California [US], July 28: A massive wildfire torching Northern California, known as Park Fire, has quickly grown to nearly 1,400 square kilometers in just three days, making it the seventh-largest wildfire in the state's history.
The Park Fire "reaches No. 7 on the list of Top 10 Largest Wildfires in California," announced the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) in a post on social media X on Saturday afternoon.
"Extreme fire conditions continue to challenge firefighters as the blaze has now grown to over 345,000 acres (1,396.2 square kilometers)," the post said.
The fire started on Wednesday afternoon in a park near Chico. It rapidly moved into wildland to the north, exploding from 400 acres (1.7 square kilometers) to more than 71,000 acres (287.3 square kilometers) in several hours, according to Cal Fire.
As of Saturday afternoon, containment efforts have been overwhelmed, with Cal Fire reporting zero percent containment due to the fire's rapid spread.
Two individuals were injured, while an estimated 134 structures were destroyed. The fire threatened an additional 4,200 structures, forcing thousands of residents in Butte and Tehama counties to evacuate their homes.
The entire town of Paradise, north of California's capital city of Sacramento, is under an evacuation warning on Saturday. Residents were advised to prepare to evacuate if officials instructed them to do so.
This community was the site of the deadly Camp Fire in 2018, which caused over 80 deaths and is considered to be the worst wildfire in modern state history.
"The potential for explosive fire growth during fire weather conditions should not be underestimated," Cal Fire said in another social media post on Saturday. "The combination of winds, dry fuels, and terrain allowed the Park Fire to consume miles of grass and brushland in a day."
The fire's cause has been traced to an act of arson. Authorities have arrested a 42-year-old man named Ronnie Dean Stout II, a Chico resident, on suspicion of intentionally starting the fire. The motive remained unclear.
More than 2,400 personnel from across California were deployed to battle the wildfire. Saturday's cooler temperatures and increased humidity provided some relief to containment efforts. The National Weather Service's Sacramento office predicted these cooler conditions would continue for the next few days before hot weather returned next week.
Source: Xinhua
