Footage captured Thursday evening shows a fire tornado erupting from the Park Fire in Northern California.
The footage shared widely on social media shows the fire tornado burst into life just northeast of Chico, California, according to meteorologist Colin McCarthy. Some 120,000 acres, the equivalent of the size of San Francisco, burned in the 24 hours just before the fire tornado. The fire is now estimated to be at least 145,000 acres, roughly the size of Atlanta, according to Cal Fire.
Butte County officials arrested a 42-year-old Chico man on suspicion of starting the fire, which is the largest to date in the state thus far in 2024. The individual was seen pushing a car that was on fire down some 60 feet into a gully before calmly leaving the area while others around him panicked and fled the scene, according to a press release from Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey.
Timelapse of the #ParkFire just northeast of Chico in Northern California, currently producing a fire tornado.
The fire has grown an insane 120,000 acres (~4x the size of San Francisco) in a little over 24 hours.
The fire was caused by arson after a man allegedly pushed a… pic.twitter.com/JUpQgUCyrZ
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 26, 2024
The blaze was only 3% contained as of Friday morning. More than 1,100 personnel are responding to the disaster, with hot, dry local conditions likely pushing the spread. Three firefighters suffered minor heat-related injuries while fighting the blaze on Thursday but were treated and released by medics, officials told CNN.
Structures have been damaged and possibly destroyed by the fire, but there is no official data on the scale of the damage at the time of writing. (RELATED: Get Ready For A Category 6 Hurricane, But Not In The Way You Think)
In several hours, the #ParkFire exploded from a 400-acre fire to a more than 71,000-acre inferno consuming everything in its path. Freelance videographer Tim Walton shared footage of the firefight.
This incident should serve as a reminder to prepare in advance by preparing a go… pic.twitter.com/JXkNyGgso2
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) July 25, 2024
CAL FIRE, in cooperation with multiple agencies and the state of California, is working quickly to bring the #ParkFire in Butte County under control. This morning, @CAgovernor Gavin Newsom announced that he has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) from the Federal… pic.twitter.com/mQrDLAKecy
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) July 25, 2024
You can see on this forecast for near-surface smoke concentration, the several active wildfires that are the source for the smoke many in the western portions of the nation are dealing with today/tonight. Air quality alerts are in effect for many. See if your area is impacted at… pic.twitter.com/xBxpTYyZaY
— National Weather Service (@NWS) July 25, 2024
Mandatory evacuations are taking place throughout Butte and Tehama Counties, impacting around 1,500 people, CBS reported.
Footage shared online shows the chaos and devastation from the blaze, which is one of several burning throughout the North American continent on Friday. Air quality alerts were also issued throughout parts of the western U.S. as radar imagery showed massive amounts of near-surface smoke concentrations from each of the active fires, as shared by the National Weather Service.
