California wildfires destroy buildings and force thousands to flee as rapidly spreading blaze ravages Canadian tourist town

CNN

By Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — California’s largest forest fire of the year burned an area larger than the entire city of Los Angeles, Dozens of buildings destroyed and thousands of residents forced to flee their homes as wildfires wreak havoc across the western United States. Meanwhile, homes and businesses in a popular Canadian beach town were set ablaze as a wildfire raged through the area. Here’s the latest:

• The Park Fire in California is now the seventh largest fire in the state: As the Park Fire raged through parts of Butte and Tehama County, north of Sacramento, California, it scorched 134 buildings and threatened another 4,200. The fast-moving blaze has burned more than 307,000 acres, or about 480 square miles, making it the eighth-largest largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history. More than 2,400 firefighters are working to slow the fire’s progress, as it remains 0% contained, according to Cal Fire.

• California Governor Declares State of Emergency: Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for both counties on Friday. The state has also secured a federal grant to ensure there are enough resources to fight the blaze. The fire is moving at 4,000 to 5,000 acres per hour, Billy See, incident commander for Cal Fire, said Friday. With winds forecast to decrease overnight and higher humidity moving into the area, See believes firefighters have a better chance of slowing the blaze.

• Man accused of setting fire in park: A 42-year-old man, identified as Ronnie Dean Stout II, was arrested on suspicion of pushing a burning car 60 feet into a ravine, “causing flames to spread which started the Park Fire,” authorities said. The district attorney said the man “calmly left the area by blending in with other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.” Stout, who has not retained an attorney, will likely be charged with arson, the prosecutor’s office told CNN.

• Pilot dies fighting fire in Oregon: A firefighter pilot was found dead Friday in a single-engine firefighting plane after going missing the night before while working near the 84-square-mile Falls Fire in the Malheur National Forest, officials said. The fire, which was 55% contained as of Saturday morning, is one of several large wildfires burning in Oregon. The largest active wildfire in the state is the Durkee Fire, which has scorched about 451 square miles and was 27% contained as of Saturday morning.

• Fire destroys many buildings in Canadian city: A fast-moving wildfire has forced thousands of visitors and residents to flee the town of Jasper, Alberta, where flames have destroyed an estimated 30% of the town’s buildings. Officials say losses are significant and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has deployed federal support to help battle the blaze. Cool temperatures are expected to calm fire behavior, helping Jasper’s 154 firefighters battle the blaze, Jasper National Park said on Facebook Friday night. However, high winds could increase fire activity.

• 96 major wildfires are raging across the country: Triple-digit heat and dry conditions across the West this week have made conditions bleak for firefighters actively battling dozens of wildfires burning nationwide, including 36 in Oregon and 14 in California. “Critical fire conditions will persist through the weekend across the western U.S., with isolated dry thunderstorms potentially sparking new fires across portions of the northern Rockies,” the National Weather Service said. Smoke from wildfires will also result in continued unhealthy air quality.

Park fire leaves some California residents reliving tragedy

The Park Fire, which started Wednesday in the Chico area, has forced about 4,000 people to evacuate in Butte County, where the state’s deadliest wildfire, the Camp Fire, killed more than 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes in 2018.

A heavy plume of smoke once again hangs over the county as crews battle thick flames that are burning everything in their path. The Park Fire has left graveyards full of burned cars and charred, hollowed-out buildings in its wake, according to video footage from around Chico.

For residents of Butte County, the advancing flames are bringing back painful memories of the losses they suffered in the Camp Fire six years ago.

One of the evacuees, Tim Ferguson, told CNN’s KOVR that he lost his father in the Camp Fire. It’s painful to think that he’s dealing with even more loss this time around.

“We have our house and we’ve been working hard to fix it up lately, but now we’re on the verge of losing all of that,” Ferguson said.

Lauri Schwein, who lost her home in the Camp Fire, told CNN affiliate KCRA that she is on high alert. “I’m packing my things, my dog, my cat,” she said. “All I can do is wait and watch.”

In the town of Paradise, the smoke is so strong that it evokes the horrors of the Camp Fire, which destroyed much of the town.

“It was very impressive, every now and then we smell smoke or see smoke like that, it triggers us. It triggers the people here in Paradise. When you go through trauma, that’s what happens,” Ron Lassonde, the mayor of Paradise, told KCRA.

The Park Fire comes just three weeks after the Thomson Fire in Butte County burned more than 9,300 acres, forced people from their homes and destroyed more than two dozen structures, including homes.

Local officials warned it would be some time before people were allowed to return home.

“We are no strangers to evacuations in Butte County,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said at a news conference Friday. “We are constantly looking for the first opportunity to get people back inside.”

The North Valley Animal Disaster Group rescued 88 animals from the fire, while its members also faced losses. In 2018, the group was able to house more than 4,000 animals during the Camp Fire.

“When you’ve been through a major fire and lost everything, sometimes the only thing you can do is help the animals,” Vice President Norm Rosene told CNN.

Temperatures in the 90s and high winds have fueled the Park Fire’s explosive growth during an active fire season in California. An estimated 467,000 acres have burned across the state so far in 2024, compared to 22,600 acres burned this time last year, according to Cal Fire.

“It’s just been challenging,” Cal Fire Captain Dan Collins told CNN. “If we’re seeing fires like this in July, they could be even more radical in the fall when the fields are drier.”

Lodge owner in Canadian tourist town sees business go up in flames

In Jasper, a popular tourist town in Alberta, 25,000 residents and visitors were forced to evacuate because of a rapidly spreading fire that has destroyed 30% of the town’s buildings, officials said.

Two wildfires have converged in the Jasper National Park area to become what authorities are calling the Jasper Wildfire Complex. It remains difficult to gauge exactly how large the complex — which also includes a third nearby fire — is due to extreme fire behavior and thick smoke cover. Together, the fires have burned an estimated 89,000 acres, according to Jasper National Park.

An evacuation order remains in effect for Jasper and Jasper National Park, with the vast majority of evacuees being visitors, officials said. In addition to the approximately 5,000 residents who live in the city, 2.48 million people visited Jasper National Park last year.

Of the city’s 1,113 structures, 358 were destroyed, according to a Facebook post from Jasper National Park.

The owner of Maligne Lodge in Jasper told CNN news partner CTV News she was shocked when she saw a photo of the 98-room hotel engulfed in flames. It had been in the family since 1961, after her father bought the property, and she had worked there since she was a child.

“As soon as we get the green light, we will start rebuilding our hotel,” said Karyn Decore.

According to CTV News, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland lost the home his family had moved into around his second birthday.

During a tour of the wreck in Jasper, Ireland, he said the loss of his home of 67 years was “devastating.”

“Now it’s memories of family and fire,” Ireland told CNN news partner CBC. “So many others are going to go through this.”

But he said, “When I stepped back and looked, and saw what was left, I knew the community was still there.”

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CNN’s Paradise Afshar, Taylor Romine, Kara Mihm and Jillian Sykes contributed to this report.