8th largest wildfire recorded in California history ravages Butte and Tehama counties
The Park Fire near Chico grew rapidly overnight, consuming some 307,000 acres by Saturday morning and pushing north over Highway 36, the line at which fire officials had hoped they might contain the flames.
The fire — the largest this year, and the 8th largest in California history — remained at zero percent containment Saturday morning, stoked by strong winds and dry conditions Friday evening, Cal Fire reported. An estimated 134 structures have been destroyed.
The fire was less than 20 miles from Shingletown, with a population of around 2,400, east of Redding. The rural Tehama County communities of Paynes Creek, Mineral and Mill Creek were evacuated on Friday afternoon.
“Extreme fire behavior has occurred due to the slope and winds aligning, causing significant growth,” Cal Fire said in a Saturday-morning update.
Officials suspect the fire began when a man — who has since been taken into custody — pushed a burning car into a ravine Wednesday afternoon.
Temperatures nearing triple digits Friday toughened the battle for the 2,484 firefighters attacking the fire ravaging forest and brush, along with isolated communities in severe terrain including steep canyons in Butte and Tehama counties, Cal Fire Capt. Dan Collins said. Cooler weather and more moisture in the air were expected to help the fight on Saturday, as crews approach the fire from both the ground and the air.
“There’s still the chance of the large acreage gains that we saw yesterday,” said Cal Fire Public Information Officer Robert Foxworthy. “It’s a very fast-moving fire.”
As the fire advanced on the Payne’s Creek community on Friday, crews meant to be getting rest between shifts were pulled out of hotels and back into the field, Foxworthy said.
That evening, officials put the entire town of Paradise under an evacuation warning, asking residents to prepare to leave their homes. The town of Paradise was devastated by the Camp Fire in 2018; that blaze killed 85 people and destroyed some 11,000 homes.
So far, no deaths or injuries have been reported in connection with the Park Fire.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency in Butte and Tehama counties Friday, saying that the state is “using using every available tool to protect lives and property as our fire and emergency response teams work around the clock to combat these challenging fires.”
California also secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will bring additional funding to fight the Park Fire.
