On Monday, California deployed a large number of firefighters to tackle the state’s most significant blaze of the year, the Park Fire in California, which has led to thousands of evacuations and scorched an area larger than Los Angeles.

The Park Fire, located near Chico in northern California, has been burning since Wednesday in a rural area approximately three hours northeast of San Francisco. According to Cal Fire, the blaze has now consumed over 370,000 acres (149,700 hectares), making it one of the largest fires in the state’s history.

Park fire in California
Image Source: Youtube

Fortunately, no casualties have been reported. Firefighters have made some progress, aided by a slight drop in temperatures over the weekend, achieving 12 percent containment. Nearly 4,900 firefighters, supported by 33 helicopters, 400 fire trucks, and numerous planes, are battling the inferno.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 26,000 residents were under evacuation orders. Authorities have urged extreme caution due to the high risk of fire escalation. Tehama County Sheriff Dave Kain described the fire as “extremely unstable and unpredictable” during a press conference, noting that areas previously deemed safe have reignited.

The fire began spreading at the pace of a walking person and has given rise to fire tornadoes and mushroom cloud-shaped smoke. The rapid spread was aided by multiple heat waves that have been affecting California and the western United States since early June. Daniel Swain, an extreme weather specialist at UCLA, explained that the vegetation remains “super, super dry” due to a month of record-breaking heat and high evaporative demand.

Fire outbreaks in the past

The Sierra Nevada foothills, where the Park Fire is burning, typically experience regular fires. However, the specific canyons affected have not seen fires in decades, providing ample fuel for the flames. Despite California’s extensive firefighting resources, Swain noted that the fire’s scale is beyond current technological capabilities.

The Park Fire has evoked memories of the 2018 Paradise fire, the deadliest in state history, which claimed 85 lives. Paradise is only about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the current blaze, and its residents have been put on alert.

Some residents of evacuated towns, like Justin Freese, have chosen to stay until the last moment, prepared with a firehose and 10,000 gallons of water. Freese told the New York Times, “I’m prepared, but I’m not stupid. If there’s a 100-foot wall of flames coming, I’m not going to stay put and melt my skin.”

Park Fire Arson Incident

Authorities have determined that the Park Fire was caused by arson. A 42-year-old man was arrested Thursday morning after being seen pushing a burning car into a ravine, according to the local prosecutor’s office.

The United States is currently battling around 100 large fires, primarily in the western states, including Oregon, where an airplane pilot fighting the fires died last week. The smoke from these fires has led to air quality alerts in many areas.

In California, another fire that started last week nearly destroyed the historic gold-mining town of Havilah in the state’s center over the weekend but resulted in no casualties.

Scientists attribute the repeated heat waves and extreme weather events to climate change, which is driven by humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels.

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