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Tag: large blaze

  • California’s largest wildfire doubles in size and destroys scores of buildings

    California’s largest wildfire doubles in size and destroys scores of buildings

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    The Park fire in Butte County — the largest blaze in California this year — exploded to more than 164,000 acres by Friday morning, with its rapid spread destroying scores of buildings and forcing more evacuations.

    The growth of the fire over two days amid steady winds and hot temperatures has been dramatic, with its remote location making it difficult to fight. It was listed at 164,286 acres Friday morning and what little containment crews had on the fire Thursday — listed at 3% — had been lost and containment was reduced to 0%, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection website.

    Conditions on the ground are going to continue to be a challenge, forecasters say.

    The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the northern Sacramento Valley through late Friday, including the region where the fire is spreading. Forecasters warned there could be wind gusts up to 30 mph pushing the blaze north combined with low humidity, which “can cause new fire starts and ongoing wildfires to … grow rapidly and dangerously in size and intensity.”

    At least 134 buildings have been confirmed destroyed, and another 4,000 are threatened, according to Cal Fire.

    “This fire is moving very rapidly and very quickly,” said Garrett Sjolund, the fire chief for Cal Fire’s Butte County unit.

    Firefighters remained focused on protecting the communities around the fire Friday, including Cohasset and Forest Ranch, where about 4,000 people were evacuated. Some neighborhoods in northeast Chico were also evacuated, affecting about 400 people, along with several areas of Tehama County, authorities said.

    The fire is burning north into the Ishi Wilderness and Lassen foothills, which experts say hasn’t seen fire activity in decades, if not a century.

    “Once it got into that area, it had a lot of fuel to consume,” said Dan Collins, a Cal Fire spokesperson for the Butte Unit.

    Zeke Lunder, a fire specialist and geographer based in Chico, agreed with Collins and said the lack of recent fires has made the area a jackpot for flames.

    Ronnie Dean Stout II, a 42-year-old Chico man, was arrested on suspicion of starting the Park fire.

    (Butte County District Attorney’s Office)

    “A lot of us who work in fire have kind of been waiting for this fire to happen for the last 25 years,” he said.

    On Thursday, authorities announced they had arrested 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II, a Chico resident, on suspicion or arson. Prosecutors said the man pushed a burning car into a gully, starting the fast-moving fire.

    “It is maddening that we’re here again, and it is particularly maddening that this particular fire was caused by an individual,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. “During this particular time of year, we are under a very high threat for fire.”

    The Park fire was one of several burning in California:

    Sjolund, the fire chief in Butte County, said he’s hopeful an expected drop in temperatures this weekend could assist in fighting the Park fire and others across the region.

    “It’s kind of a moving target with the way the weather patterns are coming in,” he said.

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    Grace Toohey, Hayley Smith, Joseph Serna

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  • Cooler temperatures and thunderstorms coming to Southern California, but with increased fire risk

    Cooler temperatures and thunderstorms coming to Southern California, but with increased fire risk

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    Cooler temperatures and potential rain is coming to southern California this weekend, but with increased fire risk in a region where the state’s largest blaze this year is already burning.

    The National Weather Service is predicting scattered showers and thunderstorms in the southern half of the state on Saturday, along with some cooler temperatures over the weekend that could finally bring some temporary relief to a prolonged heat wave scorching the region.

    National Weather Service meteorologist John Dumas said despite potential wet weather and lower temperatures, fire risk may only increase.

    In a pattern referred to as virga, the moisture in the middle layers of the atmosphere will fall as rain, but evaporate before hitting the ground, Dumas said.

    “Unfortunately, the lightning can still make it,” Dumas said, which might spark new wildfires.

    That could worsen conditions for fire personnel working around the clock to extinguish the Lake fire in Santa Barbara County, California’s largest so far this year. That blaze has grown to 37,742 acres, but firefighters have worked to contain the blaze around the Santa Ynez and Los Olivos region where structures were threatened.

    Crew members have made a “visible difference” on the south side of the fire in recent days, where flames could previously be seen from Santa Ynez and the Lake Cachuma area, said Capt. Scott Safechuck, spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department

    Firefighters have worked through nights to make some progress on the blaze with controlled burns of dry vegetation and a water-dropping helicopter. Those coordinated efforts have “really been successful for us eliminating a lot of the threat on the south side,” Safechuck said.

    Risk of fire-igniting dry lightning have led to weather officials issuing a red flag warning until 9 pm Saturday for the mountain and foothill regions of Los Angeles County, according to the weather service, along with the Antelope Valley and valleys of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, Ojai and Casitas Valley.

    Dumas said weather service officials have tools that can both track in real time and model likely lightning strikes, which helps firefighters on the ground.

    Dumas also said the heat will decrease by one or two degrees over the next few days, leading to “almost normal temperatures” by Monday or Tuesday before a new heat wave is expected to roll through Southern California.

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    Hannah Wiley

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