California’s Park Fire Continues to Slowly Grow to 647 Square Miles
The Park Fire continues to slowly grow to 647 square miles, as thousands of firefighters continue to work to gain more control over the Northern California blaze, which is now the state’s fourth largest on record.
The fire runs across four counties—Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama—and it is now 414,042 acres and is 34% contained. It has destroyed 640 structures and damaged 52 structures. Most the structures destroyed are in Butte County (428), while 212 structures were reported destroyed in Tehama County.
More than 6,500 firefighters are assigned to the fire.
Related: Containment Increased on Massive Wildfire, 640 Structures Destroyed
A CalFire update anticipates some eventual cooling that may help fight the blaze.
“High temperatures will persist through the week, reaching to between 90-100 degrees through mid-week,” the update states. “However, by the weekend, there may be a slight cooling trend and uptick in humidity.”
The Park Fire started on July 24. A Chico man accused of setting the fire by pushing a flaming vehicle into a grassy area was arrested, and he has said it was an accident.
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Other large fires burning in California include the 2024 SQF Lightning Complex fire in Tulare which is 92,103 acres and 49% contained, and the Shelly Fire in Siskiyou County, which is 15,520 acres and is 92% contained.
The fast-moving The Edgehill Fire started destroyed an unknown number of homes and forced evacuations in San Bernardino on Monday. The Southern California wildfire had burned about 100 acres before being 75% contained. The cause is under investigation.
July and now August have been active for wildfires. According to CalFire, 4,854 wildfires have burned 778,151 acres so far this year, and 1,165 structures have been reported damaged or destroyed.
The Park Fire is fourth on the list of largest fires in California, passing the Creek Fire in 2020 in Fresno County at 379,895 acres and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire in 2020 at 396,625 acres. The Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018 at 459,123 acres is third on the list, the Dixie Fire in 2021 at 963,309 acres was second on the list and the August Complex Fire in 2020 at more than 1 million acres was the state’s largest wildfire.
Nine of the top 10 largest wildfires in the state have occurred after 2017, according to CalFire.