Thousands of people battle wildfires across the West as smoke places millions under air quality warnings

Grant Douglas pauses during the evacuation as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, California, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

FOREST RANCH, Calif. — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada prompted air quality warnings for millions of people Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the blazes, including California’s largest wildfire this year.

The so-called Park Fire had burned more than 550 square miles of inland Northern California by Sunday morning. The skies were dark and covered in smoke and haze. Air quality was poor across much of the northwestern U.S. and western Canada.

Although the sprawling blaze was only 12% contained Sunday, cooler temperatures and higher humidity could help crews battle the blaze, which has been compared to the 2018 Camp Fire that tore through the nearby community of Paradise, killing 85 people and destroying 11,000 homes. Paradise and several other communities in Butte County were under evacuation warnings Sunday.

At the Park Fire, the initial effort by responders was to save lives and property, but that has shifted to confronting the fire directly, Jay Tracy, a spokesman for Park Fire headquarters, told The Associated Press by phone Sunday. He said the reinforcements would provide much-needed respite for local firefighters, some of whom have been working nonstop since Wednesday’s fire.

“This fire is surprising a lot of people with its explosive growth,” he said. “It’s kind of unprecedented.”

While below-average temperatures are expected in the area near the Park Fire through mid-week, that doesn’t mean “existing fires are going to go away,” said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

The Park Fire, which started Wednesday when authorities said a man pushed a burning car into a ravine in Chico and then fled, has destroyed at least 134 buildings, fire officials said. About 3,400 firefighters, assisted by numerous helicopters and water-jets, are battling the blaze.

A Chico man accused of setting the fire was arrested Thursday and is due in court Monday.

The Park Fire was one of more than 100 blazes burning across the U.S. on Sunday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Some were caused by weather, as climate change increases the frequency of lightning strikes while the Western U.S. struggles with scorching heat and bone-dry conditions.

Despite improved fire weather in Northern California, conditions remained favorable for more fires. The National Weather Service warned of “red flag” conditions Sunday across much of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, along with parts of California.

In Southern California, a fire in the Sequoia National Forest tore through the community of Havilah after burning more than 48 square miles (124 square kilometers) in less than three days. The town of about 250 residents was under evacuation orders.

Fires also raged in eastern Oregon and eastern Idaho, where officials were assessing damage from a cluster of fires known as the Gwen Fire, estimated at 40 square miles (106 square kilometers) in size Sunday.

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. AP reporters from the U.S. contributed: David Sharp, Becky Bohrer, John Antczak, Rio Yamat, David Sharp, Holly Ramer, Sarah Brumfield, Claire Rush, Terry Chea, Scott Sonner, Martha Bellisle and Amy Hanson.

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