Containment of vast Park Fire in Northern California heads higher

Fire crews have managed to slightly widen containment of a vast and destructive Northern California fire.

Fire crews have managed to slightly widen containment of a vast and destructive arson-triggered fire that has scorched portions of four counties in Northern California, state officials said Tuesday night.

An arsonist, identified as a 42-year-old Chico man, has been arrested for deliberately starting the fire by pushing a burning vehicle into a gully in Bidwell Park while reportedly drunk.

The Park Fire was 18% contained as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, according to information provided by the state Forestry and Fire Protection Department.

That’s up slightly from the 14% containment estimate issued Tuesday morning by CAL FIRE.

The Park Fire had burned an estimated 386,764 acres by Tuesday evening, an increase of 0.8% from the morning total of 383,619 acres.

As of Tuesday evening, about 8,200 structures were imperiled by the wildfire, which represented a significant increase from the 4,200 structures that the blaze had jeopardized in the morning.

The flames have burned an area that is triple the surface area of Lake Tahoe, according to CAL FIRE.

The Park Fire is the 5th-largest wildfire in California history, state fire officials reported.

“The fire is making uphill runs and spot fires continue to occur,” CAL FIRE said Tuesday morning. “Critically low fuel moistures and high winds have caused difficulty in suppressing the fire spread.”