Huge California wildfire burns through timber in hot and dry weather

world
Huge California Wildfire Burns Through Timber In Hot And Dry Weather
A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire from near Mill Creek in Tehama County
Share this article

By AP Reporters

California’s largest wildfire so far this year continued to grow as it chewed through timber in very hot and dry weather.

The Park Fire has scorched more than 660 square miles since erupting on July 24 near the Sacramento Valley city of Chico and burning northward up the western flank of the Sierra Nevada.

Advertisement

Containment remains at 34%, Cal Fire said.


Flames leap above trees as the Park Fire burns in the Mineral community of Tehama County
Spot fires are still a problem, officials said (AP)

The conflagration’s early explosive growth quickly made it California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record before favourable weather reduced its intensity late last week.

Advertisement

It reawakened this week due to the heat and very low relative humidity levels.

A large portion of the burned area was in the mop-up stage but spot fires are a continuing problem, officials said on Thursday.


Firefighters work to keep a spot fire from growing
Fire chiefs said much hard work still remains to be done (AP)

Advertisement

The fire’s north-east corner was the top firefighting priority, operations deputy Jed Gaines said.

“It’s not time to celebrate,” he said. “We got several more days of hard work to hold what we got in there.”

The latest Park Fire assessments found 636 structures destroyed and 49 damaged.


A helicopter drops fire retardant
Dry conditions have led to the fire burning anew (AP)

Advertisement

A local man was arrested after authorities alleged he started the fire by pushing a burning car into a gully in a wilderness park outside Chico.

About 100 miles to the south, a new forest fire in El Dorado County was exhibiting extreme behaviour, and some Park Fire aircraft were being diverted there.

The Crozier Fire, about 10 miles north of Placerville, had burned more than two square miles of timber and chaparral as of Thursday evening and was just 5% contained.

Advertisement

The fire threatens 1,625 structures, according to Cal Fire.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com