Park fire burns over 368,000 acres, becoming California’s sixth-largest blaze in history
The still-growing Park fire burning across Butte and Tehama counties surpassed 368,000 acres Monday, becoming the state’s sixth-largest fire in recorded history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
After a weekend of lower temperatures and increased humidity, which aided fire suppression, officials worry that a shift in weather could again fuel elevated fire activity. Last week, the explosive wildfire more than doubled in size several times in a matter of hours and produced fire whirls, or “firenados,” as it grew.
“As the week progresses, temperatures are expected to rise,” said Sergio Arellano, a Park fire spokesperson. “It will make fire behavior obviously increase due to the high heat — it’s going to dry out the fuels more — plus we’re expecting some light winds.
“Wind is always our enemy,” he added.
Highs Monday are expected to reach into the low 90s, and southwest winds could hit 20 mph in some upper elevations.
Fire crews were able to achieve 12% containment of the 368,256-acre blaze this weekend, according to the latest updates from Cal Fire.
A perfect storm of hot, dry winds, untouched brush and remote topography has fueled explosive growth of the Park fire north of Chico, now over 350,000 acres.
The blaze ignited Wednesday afternoon in what authorities say was an act of arson, when a man pushed a burning car into a gully near Chico. The fire quickly ballooned into the state’s largest of the year.
More than 26,000 people have been ordered to evacuate across Butte, Tehama and Shasta counties, Arellano said Monday, and many more are under evacuation warnings, including in western Plumas County.
At least 109 structures have been destroyed and 4,200 are threatened, according to Cal Fire. The fire’s eastern edge remains a major concern, with flames jumping across Highway 32, which is closed, Arellano said.
Lassen Volcano National Park, in southern Shasta County, has been closed and evacuated, with park officials concerned the fire will reach its historic district and headquarters in Mineral, which escaped the wrath of the Dixie fire in 2021, the national park said in a statement. Its staff has been assisting with evacuations and “scrambling to save historic artifacts stored in the 1927 Loomis Museum.”
The explosive Park fire north of Chico created massive smoke plumes that whirled up into the atmosphere, swirling in a tornado-like way, a phenomenon known as a “firenado.”
The Park fire is far from the only concern across California, however, with crews responding to more than 22 wildfires statewide.
The Borel fire in Kern County continues to burn in and around Sequoia National Forest, growing to 53,010 acres Monday morning, according to federal officials.
Already the blaze has left a path of destruction, with significant structure loss in the historic mining town of Havilah and concern about more damage, given the area’s red flag warning — an alert for dangerous fire weather — through Monday night. Several nearby communities are under evacuation orders and warnings, and much of the national forest and federal lands have been closed.
“Moderate to rapid fire spread will continue to move to the east and north, potentially impacting structures and infrastructure in Bodfish, Moreland Mill, and French Meadow areas,” federal officials said in a Monday update. “Fire may exhibit very high rates of spread, high intensity and difficulty of control.”
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