Massive California wildfire burns 5,000 acres every hour

A massive wildfire has grown at 12 square miles per hour and is spreading across parts of Northern California.

The Park fire, which started on Wednesday in suspected arson, has burned more than 350,000 acres of land northeast of Chico and was only 10% contained as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire department.

About 3,700 firefighters are battling the blaze, which is being fanned by steep terrain and gusty winds.

A 42-year-old man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of causing the fire by driving a burning car into a ravine near Alligator Hole in Butte County.

It is now the largest fire in the state this year, and the seventh largest on record in California, having burned an area more than 1.5 times the size of the five boroughs of New York City.

Fire Chief Robert Foxworthy said steep terrain and few roads made it challenging to fight the fire. He said the sheer size of the fire was made worse by embers being thrown “far” ahead of the main fire, causing many spot fires.

According to Cal Fire Chief Billy See, the fire was spreading at a rate of 5,000 acres per hour.

During an operational briefing, Mr See said there were almost three times as many personnel fighting the fire on Saturday as on Friday, and that “we still don’t have enough”.

Scott Weese, a fire behavior expert with Cal Fire, said there was a high fuel load in the area and a lot of grass growing.

“The heat signature is enormous,” he told the operational briefing, adding that the fire burned 150,000 acres yesterday.

Authorities hoped they could use Saturday’s relaxed conditions to bring the fire under some control.

Wind speed decreased and temperatures dropped by about 3-4 degrees Celsius, but in some areas temperatures are still hovering around 30 degrees Celsius.

Cal Fire reports that cooler temperatures and higher humidity have limited the spread of the fire, but it is still growing in some areas.

On Saturday, officials said the chance of fire whirls had diminished after a rare “firenado” — a swirling vortex of flames and ash formed by intense heat and strong winds — was filmed winding through the undergrowth the day before.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte and Tehama counties on Friday due to the fire in the park.

On Saturday, the governor announced new federal aid for Tehama County. Federal aid for Butte County was announced earlier in the week.

“This is already one of the largest fires in California history, and we continue to see dangerous conditions. Our firefighters and emergency responders are working around the clock to protect our communities. Californians must heed the warnings of local authorities and take steps to stay safe.”

At least 16 helicopters are busy fighting the fire, and if conditions permit, several fire-fighting aircraft will dump water from the air.

The wildfire prompted mandatory evacuations in Butte, where California’s deadliest fire, the Camp Fire, killed more than 80 people in 2018.

The 400 residents of Cohasset have already been relocated because the fire has become uncontrollable.

According to Cal Fire, 134 structures have been destroyed and 4,200 are at risk.

Officers arrested Ronnie Dean Stout, 42, and accused him of “calmly leaving the area by blending in with other citizens in the area and fleeing the rapidly growing fire” he had started.

He is being held without bail while authorities determine what charges he will face.

A woman who answered the door to the mobile home listed as his home in Chico told the San Francisco Chronicle that prosecutors are “trying to make him a scapegoat.”

“They say he did it on purpose, but he didn’t. The car caught fire,” the unidentified woman said, before declining to answer further questions.

The Park Fire is one of many fires currently raging across the US and Canada.

The National Interagency Fire Center is currently monitoring 102 major fires across the U.S., mostly in West Coast states.

A firefighter pilot was killed in a tanker plane crash in Oregon after the plane disappeared without a trace on Thursday night.

In Canada, a major wildfire in Jasper National Park destroyed hundreds of buildings in the town of Jasper.

Weekend conditions in Jasper have improved, with rain and cooler temperatures helping to protect other parts of the historic tourist town.

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