Park Fire | |
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Date(s) |
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Location | Butte and Tehama counties, California |
Coordinates | 39°46′44″N 121°45′42″W / 39.7789°N 121.76168°W |
Statistics | |
Perimeter | 0% contained |
Burned area | 239,152 acres (96,781 ha; 374 sq mi; 968 km2) |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 0 |
Non-fatal injuries | 2 |
Evacuated | >4,000 |
Structures destroyed | >134 |
Ignition | |
Cause | Arson |
Map | |
The Park Fire is a massive and active wildfire burning in Butte and Tehama counties in Northern California. As of July 26, 2024[update], the fire has burned 307,368 acres (124,387 hectares), and recent updates report that containment has decreased from three percent to zero. The Park Fire is the largest wildfire in California's 2024 wildfire season and the thirteenth-largest in California history. It is also California’s largest wildfire since 2021.
The burn area saw temperatures of 100–110 °F (38–43 °C) during the week prior to the fire. Much of the landscape with the highest fire activity had not burned for more than 20 years.[1]
The Park Fire began near Upper Park Road in upper Bidwell Park, east of the city of Chico in Butte County.[2] Bidwell Park is a large municipal park and recreational area, stretching from Chico itself into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.[3][4] The Butte County District Attorney's office announced the arrest of Ronnie Dean Stout, II, a 42-year-old resident of Chico on July 25, the second day of the fire, under suspicion of having ignited the Park Fire by pushing a flaming car off an embankment in Bidwell Park. The suspect has two prior felony convictions.[5] The district attorney's office alleged that the suspect blended in with other members of the public who were hastening away from the growing fire.[6]
The area in which the Park Fire is burning has a history of significant wildfire activity but is most notably burning in an area just north of the deadly and destructive Camp Fire of 2018. The area the fire itself encompasses has not been burned by a significant wildfire since the 1990 Campbell Fire and 1994 Barkley Fire.[7]
The Park Fire ignited at 2:52 p.m. PDT on Bidwell Park's eastern edge.[8][9] It was first spotted near Upper Park Road.[8] From its ignition point the fire spread north, burning some of the park's eastern portion, driven by winds out of the south of up to 24 miles per hour (39 km/h).[8][10] The area burned was reported by Cal Fire to be 1,000 acres (400 ha) by 5:54 p.m.[10] Evacuations in areas northeast of Chico began by 9:00 p.m.[11] The burned area increased to 6,465 acres (2,616 ha) by 10:15 p.m.[10]
As it spread north, the fire established itself in the Ishi Wilderness, an area with little history of wildfire, heavy vegetation cover, and few easy access routes for ground-based firefighting personnel.[8] The fire produced pyrocumulus clouds and burned actively into the night.[9] Despite the efforts of ground crews and three night-flying helicopters, the wind-driven fire continued to burn largely north—parallel to California State Route 99—until by morning it had burned into Tehama County and consumed more than 45,000 acres (18,000 ha).[11][12] During the fire's first 12 hours, it burned at a rate of 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) per hour.[1]
As of July 26, 2024[update], the fire had burned 239,152 acres (96,781 ha) and was zero percent contained, making the Park Fire the largest wildfire in California in 2024 and the 13th largest in California history.[4][13]
There have been no reported deaths in association with the Park Fire.[14] As of the morning of July 26, 134 structures have been destroyed.[15] As of the afternoon of July 26, two people suffered minor injuries.[16]
The fire has prompted evacuation orders for parts of Butte and Tehama counties,[17] including residential areas near Chico and the city's airport.[9] By the morning of Thursday, July 25, more than 4,000 people were subject to evacuation orders, including the entire community of Cohasset.[1][11]
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