He predicted the fire could grow to hundreds of thousands of acres and spread north and east, adding that the next most populated areas may be farther away but could become endangered in the coming days.
“This aircraft is fully loaded with fuel,” Swain said.
“Due to dry fuels, hot weather, low humidity and wind, the fire quickly began to outpace our resources,” Butte County Fire Chief Garrett Shorland said at a news conference Thursday..” In this region at least Late Friday, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for fire danger weather conditions.
The fire started around 3 p.m. Wednesday and since Thursday night “expanded from a 400-acre fire into a conflagration of more than 71,000 acres, burning everything in its path,” Cal Fire said. Said The fire had burned more than 145,000 acres in Butte and Tehama counties by late Thursday and spawned several fire tornadoes, according to reports on social media.
About 4,400 residents were ordered to evacuate, including in the cities of Cohasset and Forest Ranch and in northeast Chico, authorities said. Two minor injuries were reported and photos showed several homes damaged or destroyed.
Butte County District Attorney Michael L. Ramsey said Ronnie Stout, 42, of Chico, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on yet-to-be determined arson-related charges. Investigators said witnesses saw Stout push a burning car down an embankment above Bidwell Park, starting the fire.
“She saw Stout get in the car, do something inside the car, get out and then push the burning car down an embankment,” Ramsey told reporters. “That’s why we’re here today,” he said, noting that the car belonged to Stout’s mother.
Ramsey said Stout was arrested early Thursday on a no-bail warrant.
Butte County has seen its share of deadly and destructive wildfires, including the 2018 Camp Fire that nearly destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people. Paradise residents were on edge Friday after officials told them to prepare for the possibility of having to evacuate as the Park Fire spread.
In 2021, the Dixie Fire, sparked by PG&E power lines, devastated the city of Greenville, California, and burned nearly 1 million acres, making it the second-largest fire in the state’s history. Earlier this month, the Thompson Fire near Oroville destroyed or damaged dozens of structures and burned more than 3,700 acres before firefighters were able to contain it.
So far this year, 4,367 fires have burned at least 343,253 acres in California. These fires have been started by a variety of causes, including lightning and arson. Scientists say climate change is a driving force behind the explosion of wildfires in California and around the world.
