CHICO — Northern California's Park Fire has surpassed 370,000 acres burned as evacuation orders affect four counties—Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas.
Cal Fire reported that containment remained at 14% as of Monday evening. The Park Fire is the largest wildfire in the state so far this year and the sixth-largest wildfire in California history, burning 373,357 acres, Cal Fire reports.
The fire has scorched an area more than five times the size of the city of Sacramento. A Cal Fire firefighter said the flames were still spreading at a rate of 4,000 to 5,000 acres per hour on Monday. Most of the burn area has been in Tehama County with the flames spreading north toward Shasta County.
IN PHOTOS: Park Fire in Northern California
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said Friday afternoon that about 4,200 residents are under evacuation. The number was not yet clear for the other counties. Cal Fire said 4,200 structures are threatened.
The town of Paradise, which was devastated in the 2018 Camp Fire, was issued an evacuation warning. Those warnings were lifted late Monday morning, officials announced.
Cal Fire said the Park Fire wasthe result of suspected arsonand ignited around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Upper Bidwell Park area, about four miles northeast of Chico's city center, in Butte County.
Cal Fire initially reported that 134 structures were destroyed, but said that was through aerial assessments. As of Monday morning, 105 structures have been destroyed and another five have been damaged. Crews expect this damage number to fluctuate in the coming days.
No specifics have been released on the kinds of structures destroyed,but it's clear that several homeshave been burned.
An Alert California tower camera in the area captured a fire tornado, or firenado, near Chico early Thursday evening.
Arson suspect arrested
The Butte County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday they had arrested a man suspected of starting the fire. As detailed by the DA's office, a man was seen pushing a car that was on fire down into the gully near Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park -- allegedly spreading the flames that would become the Park Fire.
He was arrested Thursday and identified by the district attorney's office as Chico resident Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42. He was reportedly seen calmly leaving the area, trying to blend in with other people.
Alligator Hole is a popular area for people to cool off during the summer and is about six miles east of Chico's city plaza. Upper Bidwell Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation and is home to many hiking and biking trails, swimming holes and picnic areas.
Fire activity
Jeremy Pierce, operations section chief for Cal Fire, reported during a weekend news conference Saturday that the fire had a massive growth in Tehama County, burning north to Highway 36.
"Yesterday's weather pattern, the incident was smoke-covered and shaded, so there wasn't a lot of solar heating done by the sun and there was very little wind. That allowed our firefighters to anchor this incident and gain that 12% containment," Cal Fire incident commander Billy See said Saturday.
The smoke cleared on Sunday and increased winds were reported in the upper canyons, See said.
Mark Brunton, Cal Fire operations section chief, reported an increased fire activity in the northeasterly direction and moving into heavier fuels and difficult terrain. Dozers, hand crews and aircraft are attacking this area that Brunton said is northeast of Butte Meadows.
Below Butte Meadows, crews have seen spot fires but crews have had success knocking down the spot fire.
Honea said the sheriff's office was looking at downgrading evacuation orders in the Forest Ranch area, but due to spot fires in the area, the area remains in an order. He noted how this demonstrates how quickly conditions change, and will reassess this again on Monday.
In the Shasta County area, crews are strengthening lines, including lines built from previous fires if the fire makes another run north.
Cal Fire also reported the fire quickly spread through the Ishi Wilderness in Tehama County over the weekend.
The Lassen Volcanic National Park has closed. Park officials said the fire has the potential to reach Manzanita Lake and Mineral headquarters.
Evacuation orders and shelters
Butte County
Evacuations were first issued in Butte County. Several zones stretching northeast from Bidwell Park up Highway 32 to the Butte Meadows and Jonesville areas are under mandatory evacuation orders. It includes Cohasset Ridge, Keefer Ridge and Forest Ranch.
The areas of Rock Creek and Richardson Springs were reduced to evacuation warnings on Sunday.
Evacuation warnings were also in effect for zones on the east side of that area from Butte Canyon Creek north—west of Paradise, Magalia and Paradise Lake—then east through Stirling City and north near Philbrook Reservoir. A few zones around the north and east sides of the Chico airport remain under evacuation warnings.
An evacuation shelter in Butte County was set up at Neighborhood Church at 2801 Notre Dame Blvd. in Chico. A second evacuation shelter is open at the Butte County Fairgrounds at 199 E. Hazel St. in Gridley.
A shelter for small animals is operating at 2279 Del Oro, in Oroville. Large animals can be taken to Camelot Equestrian Park at 1985 Clark Rd. in Oroville.
In Butte County, Cohasset Road was closed at Rock Creek, and Upper Park Road was closed at Wildwood, Cal Fire said. Additionally, Highway 32 is closed from Bruce Road in Chico to Highway 36.
Butte County residents can viewa live evacuation map hereto see the exact zones.
Tehama County
Tehama, Shasta and Plumas County residents can viewa live evacuation map here.
In Tehama County, nearly the entire eastern side of the county, from the southern border to the northern border, is under mandatory evacuation orders. This continues from the Cohasset area near the Butte border through the Ishi Wilderness and Tehama Wildlife Area, through Highway 36 to the Shasta County border, east of Highway 99.
A few zones are under evacuation warnings on the east side of Highway 99 and west of the mandatory zones, stretching from the Butte County border north to the Shasta County border. A few zones in the easternmost part of the county, where Highways 36 and 32 meet, are also under evacuation warnings.
An evacuation shelter in Tehama County is operating in Los Molinos at 7980 Sherwood Blvd.
Shasta County
In Shasta County, several zones between the Manton and Shingletown areas and stretching west and east on the south side of Highway 44 are also under mandatory evacuation orders. Dozens of zones on the north side of Highway 44 are under evacuation warnings.
A temporary shelter point for Shasta evacuees is set up at the Dollar General on Highway 44 in Shingletown, the sheriff's office said. Another one will be set up at Bella Vista Elementary School at 22661 Old Alturas Rd.
Plumas County
An area of Plumas County extending from the west side of Lake Almanor and Highway 36 down to the Grizzly Creek bridge along the Feather River Highway is under an evacuation warning. This is east of the burn area.
Federal assistance
On Friday evening, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in Butte and Tehama counties.
"We are using every available tool to protect lives and property as our fire and emergency response teams work around the clock to combat these challenging fires," Newsom said in a statement. "Stay safe and remain alert for instructions from local authorities as dangerous fire weather conditions continue."
A local emergency was declared in Butte County Thursday night, allowing the county to request more resources from the state. Ahead of the local emergency being declared, Newsom secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to help with the state's response to the fire.
Newsom then secured federal assistance for Tehama County on Saturday night.
Butte County has had a very busy fire season this summer. The Thomspon Fire in the Oroville area recently scorched more than 3,700 acres, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and destroyed dozens of structures, including houses.
The day after the Thompson Fire started, the Grubbs Fire just south of that in Palermo was much smaller but also forced evacuations.
In mid-July, the Railbridge Fire, just south of Palermo, burned 130 acres, forced evacuations, destroyed or damaged several structures and injured at least one person.
Back in June, the Apache Fire, which burned in the same general area near Oroville and Palermo, scorched nearly 700 acres and forced its own round of evacuations.
Nearly two weeks before the Apache Fire, the Junes Fire burned nearly 1,100 acres in Palermo and also forced people from their homes.
The Park Fire is burning just west of where the destructive Camp and Dixie fires happened in Butte County.
The 2021 Dixie Fire burned nearly 1 million acres across Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Lassen and Tehama counties.
Further back in 2018, the Camp Fire burned more than 150,000 acres in Butte County, nearly destroying the town of Paradise. It is the deadliest fire in state history, killing 85 people.
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- Chico
- California Wildfires
- Butte County
Richard Ramos
Richard Ramos is a web producer for CBS Sacramento who was born and raised in Sacramento. He graduated with a BA in Journalism from CSUS.
