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Park fire destroys over 307,000 hectares; Paradise under evacuation warnings

Park fire destroys over 307,000 hectares; Paradise under evacuation 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)

The Park Fire near Chico had already burned some 350,000 acres by Saturday night, making it one of the largest fires in state history. Still, the cold and cloudy weather gave firefighters a glimmer of hope in the previously dynamic and unpredictable blaze.

The fire — the largest this year and the seventh-largest in California history — was 10 percent contained Saturday night after high winds and dry conditions fueled explosive growth Friday, Cal Fire reported. An estimated 134 structures were destroyed, though it was not clear how many were homes or other types of buildings.

“There is extreme fire behavior due to the alignment of the slope and wind direction, which has caused significant growth,” Cal Fire said in an update Saturday morning.

The fire was less than 20 miles from Shingletown, population about 2,400, east of Redding. The rural Tehama County communities of Paynes Creek, Mineral and Mill Creek were evacuated Friday afternoon.

“We’re really focused on making sure it doesn’t get into the Shingletown area,” Rick Carhart, Cal Fire Butte County public information officer, said Saturday night. “We’re hoping that with the weather today and hopefully Sunday, we can do a good job of keeping the fire south of Highway 44 and Shingletown.”

Officials suspect the fire started when a man, who has since been arrested, pushed a burning car into a ravine on Wednesday afternoon.

Railroad poles burn along Highway 36 as the Park Fire spreads near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, California, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Railroad poles burn along Highway 36 as the Park Fire spreads near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, California, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Temperatures approaching triple digits on Friday made the fight harder for the 2,484 firefighters battling the blaze that has ravaged forest and brush and isolated communities in tough terrain, including steep canyons in Butte and Tehama counties, said Cal Fire Capt. Dan Collins. Cooler weather and more moisture in the air helped the fight Saturday, as crews approached the fire from both the ground and the air.

“The weather took a pretty dramatic turn. It’s much, much cooler, with a cloud cover, so the fire was never able to exhibit that pyrocumulus cloud formation that has developed over the last few days and allowed the fire to exhibit some dramatic and dynamic behavior,” Carhart said Saturday night.

“The relative humidity is also much higher, and all of those things are factors that help the firefighters get closer to the edges of the fire and get right to it,” he said. “We’ve been fighting defensively for the last three days, but today we had the opportunity to go right in and do a good job on the fire.”

Carhart would not say how long it would take to get the fire under control.

“We hope to have some good news to report soon,” he said. “But even if the containment goes up … it doesn’t mean the firefights are over — it doesn’t mean the fire isn’t going to be dramatic and dynamic. We’re going to be working on this for many, many, many more days.”

As the fire advanced toward the community of Payne’s Creek on Friday, emergency responders who needed to rest between shifts were pulled from their hotels and sent back to the field, Foxworthy said.

That evening, officials issued an evacuation warning for the entire town of Paradise, asking residents to prepare to leave their homes. The town of Paradise was devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed some 11,000 homes.

As of Saturday, no deaths or injuries have been reported in connection with the fire in the park.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte and Tehama counties on Friday, saying the state is “using every available resource to protect lives and property as our fire and emergency response teams work around the clock to combat these challenging fires.”

California has also received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will provide additional funding to combat the Park Fire.

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

View more at Marin Independent Journal