The Park Fire has caused devastation in Northern California and is currently one of the largest wildfires in the state’s history.
Fire combustion The fire near Chico prompted evacuations in four counties, and Cal Fire officials estimated more than 307,000 acres had burned as of Saturday, Fox Weather reported.
🚒 CAL FIRE officials: #ParkFire Take control and protect the communities in your path.
🔥 The fire, driven by slopes and wind, is spreading quickly, burning grass, brush and mixed timber and remains under a red flag warning.
👨🚒 For now… pic.twitter.com/9arQvmVcGr
— California State Fire Department (@CAL_FIRE) July 26, 2024
The media continues:
At least 134 homes and buildings have been damaged or destroyed, with another 1,200 at risk, according to fire officials. Evacuation warnings are currently in effect for more than 50 areas across four counties, with more than 4,400 people evacuated.
“The Park Fire continues to burn aggressively due to steep terrain and wind conditions,” Cal Fire officials said in an update Friday night. “Damage assessment teams are working to identify any structures that have been damaged or destroyed.”
In a social media post on Friday, CAL Fire Chief Joe Tyler share Video footage of the park fire.
“Please take a moment to watch this powerful video and think about how you and your family are preparing for the threat of wildfire,” he wrote.
of #ParkFire The Butte County wildfire has burned more than 164,000 acres. Watch this compelling video to learn how you and your family can prepare for the threat of wildfire. For more information about the Park Fire, visit: https://t.co/f2Jx3YA3kh pic.twitter.com/RiWlxhTLan
— California State Fire Chief (@CALFIRE_CHIEF) July 26, 2024
As of early Saturday morning, no deaths had been reported, but two people were treated for minor injuries. According to Fox Weather, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has declared a state of emergency, which will allow more state resources to be dedicated to fighting the fires.
According to the media, around 2,500 firefighters are working to put out the blaze.
According to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, a man from Chico start Firefighters pushed a burning car into a ditch in Bidwell Park on Wednesday afternoon and put out the blaze, KCRA reported Friday.
The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II, was arrested. KCRA also reports:
According to the district attorney’s office, Stout has two previous “strike” felony convictions. In 2001, he was convicted in Butte County of indecent acts with a child under 14, and in 2002 in Kern County of robbery resulting in serious injury. After his second conviction, he was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.
He was then arrested in 2020 for DUI.
of #ParkFire Northern California wildfires have burned 164,000 acres since they began on Wednesday. Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, was arrested on suspicion of arson after he allegedly set his mother’s car on fire and drove it into a ditch in Chico, sparking the Park Fire, according to the Butterfield County District Attorney’s Office. From ABC30 pic.twitter.com/w526yiTFfW
— Jessica Harrington (@JessicaABC30) July 26, 2024
The largest fire in California in 2023 was the Smith River Complex Fire in Del Norte, which has burned more than 95,000 acres, according to KCRA.
