California's deadly Park Fire destroys homes, forces mass evacuations
1. California's Park Fire has already become 20th largest fire in city's history by land area in just two days
A rapidly spreading wildfire in northern California has forced the evacuation of over 4,000 residents as firefighters contend with strong winds and extremely dry conditions, authorities reported on Friday.
The Park Fire, the most intense wildfire of the summer in the state, has been fueled by an intense heatwave and has already burned nearly 240,000 acres as of Friday night. The blaze continues to grow in intensity, AFP reported.
“This fire has been expanding at a rate of 4,000 to 5,000 acres an hour,” said incident commander Billy See during a press conference Friday evening.
Currently, the fire is "0%" contained despite the efforts of around 1,700 firefighters, according to state agency Cal Fire, with hundreds more resources on the way.
So far, 4,000 people have been evacuated from the towns of Cohasset and Forest Ranch, along with an additional 400 from the small city of Chico. Authorities also reported that 134 structures have been destroyed.
The fire began on Wednesday near Chico in Butte County and has rapidly spread to neighboring Tehama County. In just two days, it has become the 20th largest fire in California history by land area.
Fire departments from across the state have dispatched crews to assist in fighting the blaze.
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the region through Friday night, indicating "critical" fire weather conditions.
Earlier this week, police detained a 42-year-old man suspected of starting the fire by pushing a burning car into a ravine. Butte County prosecutor Mike Ramsey identified the suspect as Ronnie Dean Stout II and stated he will be held without bail until his court appearance next week.
Despite the severity of the Park Fire, it is not currently threatening any large cities, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain.
California is facing an early start to what is shaping up to be a severe wildfire season, with 20 active incidents and 40 additional blazes threatening communities to the north.
Canada is also grappling with wildfires, including a massive blaze that has ravaged much of the tourist town of Jasper in western Alberta province.
