Park fire explodes in size, one of largest in California history

A massive wildfire in Northern California, known as the Park Fire, has grown to nearly 550 square miles in just three days, making it the seventh-largest wildfire in state history.

The Park Fire “reaches No. 7 on the list of the 10 largest wildfires in California,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) announced in a social media post Saturday afternoon X.

“Extreme fire conditions continue to challenge firefighters as the fire has now grown to over 345,000 acres (1,396.2 square kilometers),” the release said.

The fire started Wednesday afternoon in a park near Chico and quickly moved north, growing from 400 acres (1.7 square kilometers) to more than 71,000 acres (287.3 square kilometers) in a matter of hours, Cal Fire said.

By Saturday afternoon, efforts to contain the fire were overwhelming, with Cal Fire reporting that the fire was zero percent contained because it was spreading so quickly.

Two people were injured and an estimated 134 buildings were destroyed. The fire threatened another 4,200 structures, forcing thousands of residents in Butte and Tehama County to evacuate their homes.

The entire city of Paradise, north of California’s capital Sacramento, was under an evacuation warning Saturday, with residents advised to prepare to evacuate if officials ordered them to do so.

This community was the scene of the deadly Camp Fire in 2018, which left more than 80 people dead and is considered the worst wildfire in the state’s modern history.

“The potential for explosive fire growth during fire weather conditions cannot be underestimated,” Cal Fire said in another social media post Saturday. “The combination of wind, dry fuels and terrain allowed the Park Fire to burn miles of grass and brush in a single day.”

The cause of the fire has been ruled arson. Authorities have arrested a 42-year-old man named Ronnie Dean Stout II, a resident of Chico, on suspicion of deliberately setting the fire. The motive remains unclear.

More than 2,400 firefighters from across California were deployed to battle the wildfire. Saturday’s cooler temperatures and increased humidity provided some relief to containment efforts. The National Weather Service office in Sacramento predicted that the cooler conditions would continue for the next few days before warmer weather returns next week.