Park Fire burning in NorCal 7th largest wildfire in state's history, CAL FIRE says
CHICO, Calif. -- California's largest wildfire of the year has burned an area larger than the size of the city of Los Angeles, destroyed dozens of buildings and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes.
The Park Fire, which began Wednesday in the Chico area in Northern California, has forced about 4,000 people to evacuate in Butte County, where the state's deadliest wildfire, the Camp Fire, killed more than 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes in 2018.
The Park Fire has exploded across parts both Butte and Tehama counties the past few days.
RELATED: Arson suspect arrested for allegedly starting Park Fire near Chico by pushing flaming car into gully
It now ranks at the seventh largest wildfire in California history, according to CAL FIRE data on Saturday.
The top six California wildfires are:
August Complex-1,032,648
Dixie-963,309
Mendocino Complex-459,123
SCU Lightning Complex-396,625
Creek -379,895
LNU Lightning Complex-363,220
As of Saturday afternoon, the wildfire grew 350,012 acres. And it is 0% contained.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for both counties Friday. The state also secured a federal grant to ensure there are enough resources to fight the blaze. The fire is advancing at 4,000 to 5,000 acres per hour, Billy See, incident commander for Cal Fire, said Friday. With winds forecast to die down overnight and higher humidity moving into the area, See believes firefighters will have a better chance to slow the fire down.
A 42-year-old man, identified as Ronnie Dean Stout II, was arrested on suspicion of pushing a burning car 60 feet into a gully, "spreading flames that caused the Park Fire," authorities said. The DA says the man was seen "calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire." Stout, who has not retained an attorney, will likely face an arson charge, the DA's office told CNN.
RELATED: Park Fire: Bay Area sending resources to battle NorCal wildfire that burned more than 348,000 acres
With containment still hovering near 0%, several fire departments here in the Bay Area have sent assistance up north.
"Up in that area currently you're having those 100-degree temperatures. Very low relative humidity. So very dry, hot. A lot of steep, rugged terrain. So getting access to some of those areas is very difficult," said Santa Rosa Fire Department spokesperson Will Powers on Friday.
KGO-TV staff contributed to this report
