California’s Park Fire has burned 239,000 acres, ranking among the top 13 largest fires in state history.

CNN
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Hot and dry weather Wildfire Activity Wildfires are burning in the western United States and Canada, destroying homes, injuring people and forcing evacuations. The largest wildfire in the United States has burned more than 280,000 acres in eastern Oregon, and more than 239,000 acres in California. See the latest updates below.

• The Park Fire is raging through parts of Butte and Tehama counties north of Sacramento, California. As of Friday evening, the Park Fire had burned more than 239,000 acres, or about 373 square miles, an area roughly the size of San Diego, making it the 13th largest fire in state history. More than 1,600 firefighters were working to slow the fire’s progress. Cal Fire reported that the fire was 0% contained as of Friday, with 134 structures destroyed and another 4,200 at risk. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for both counties on Friday. The state also secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure there are sufficient resources to suppress the fire.

Cal Fire Capt. Billy See said the fire is growing at 4,000 to 5,000 acres per hour, but winds are expected to die down overnight, along with higher humidity, which See believes will give firefighters a better chance to slow the flames. See said firefighters are working to contain the blaze south of State Highway 36.

The fire has forced road closures and mandatory evacuations in Butte County, where the state’s deadliest wildfire, the Camp Fire, burned in 2018, killing more than 85 people and destroying thousands of homes. Local officials have warned that it may be a while before people can return to their homes and urged residents to check the county’s website for the latest updates on evacuations and road closures.

• Three firefighters were injured and the building was damaged. Cal Fire Captain Dan Collins told CNN on Thursday that three firefighters suffered minor injuries from heat stroke while battling the Park Fire. They were treated and released from the hospital, he said. Officials are aware of structures destroyed or damaged in the fire, but no official count is available yet, Collins said.

• Man suspected of starting California wildfires arrested. A suspect was arrested after allegedly driving a burning car 60 feet into a ravine and “spreading the flames,” authorities said. The fire has become California’s largest wildfire this year. The Park Fire in Butte County quickly burned an area larger than the city of Atlanta.

• Firefighters battle massive fires in Oregon: The Darkee Fire has burned more than 288,000 acres and was 20% contained as of Friday afternoon. The fire, which broke out on July 17 near the Oregon-Idaho border, was sparked by a lightning strike and is the largest of 34 major wildfires currently burning in Oregon, the state hardest hit by wildfires in recent days. More than 500 firefighters and personnel from 22 states are battling the blaze, according to InciWeb. Over the weekend and into the beginning of this week, the Darke Fire exhibited unusual fire behavior and even produced its own weather system, pyrocumulus clouds.

• Oregon wildfires destroy buildings According to the Oregon Emergency Management Agency, the fire has spread, injuring three people and destroying two homes and 12 other structures. Evacuation orders have been issued for areas surrounding the Darke Fire in Baker County. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said some areas are without power. The National Guard has been deployed to assist. Thick smoke from the blaze has blocked traffic on Interstate 84, causing intermittent closures of the highway. Smoke from the wildfire has spread as far as Boise and beyond. Air quality warnings have been issued for parts of Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

• Canadian tourist town engulfed in wildfires: A fast-spreading wildfire forced thousands of tourists and residents to evacuate the town of Jasper, Alberta, after flames destroyed half of the town’s buildings. Officials said the damage was extensive, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for federal assistance to help with the firefighting efforts. Jasper National Park said on Facebook Thursday night that cooler temperatures and rain are expected to slow the fire over the next 72 hours and that they would assist with the firefighting efforts.

• Fire-prone weather continues across the western United States. Triple-digit temperatures and dry weather across the West this week have created challenges for firefighters trying to contain 89 large wildfires burning across the country. “Many wildfires in the Northwest continue to experience active to severe fire conditions, and evacuations have been ordered for 17 wildfires. Multiple teams are battling multiple fires as complex fires. Evacuations have also been ordered in California, the Northern Rockies, and the Great Basin,” the National Joint Fire Center said. Conditions will begin to improve across much of the West over the weekend as cooler temperatures and higher humidity move into the region.

Some families were forced to flee as the Park Fire raged near the Northern California city of Chico, burning homes and forcing evacuations.

The former news anchor told CNN affiliate KOVR that he watched live security camera footage as the Butte County home burned down.

“It’s nothing. Our house is gone, but their house is fine. You can see their neighbor’s house is gone,” Julia Yarboe said.

Seeing the remains of her home broke her heart, Yarbough said.

“It doesn’t seem real,” she said. “I guess I’ll only realize it later.”

As fire season continues in California, with triple-digit temperatures, strong winds and the Park Fire exploding, an estimated 343,253 acres have burned statewide so far in 2024, according to Cal Fire, far surpassing the 22,439 acres that burned through the same time last year.

A 42-year-old man identified as Ronnie Dean Stout II was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire.

Witnesses reported seeing someone “push a burning car into a ditch near Alligator Hole in Upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3 p.m. yesterday,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Thursday. “The car rolled approximately 60 feet down the bank and became completely engulfed in flames, spreading and sparking the Park Fire.”

The man was then seen “calmly leaving the area, blending in with other residents in the area and fleeing the rapidly spreading fire,” according to the district attorney. Stout was later arrested at a mobile home park in Chico, Ramsey said.

Ramsey said Stout will likely be charged with arson, but it’s unclear what the charge will be or whether it will be an aggravated offense. The district attorney’s office told CNN that Stout has not hired an attorney and that a public defender will be appointed at his arraignment.

According to criminal records, he was previously convicted in Kern County of second-degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison. He was released on parole in 2018, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to CNN.

He was also convicted of lewd acts with a child under 14 in Butte County, records show.

‘Wall of fire’ destroys homes, businesses in Canadian tourist city

In the popular tourist city of Jasper, Alberta, the fast-spreading fire damaged 30 to 50 per cent of the town’s buildings and forced the evacuations of 25,000 residents and tourists, officials said at a press conference on Thursday.

“Homes and businesses have been lost to what people are calling a ‘wall of fire’,” said Alberta Premier Daniel Smith.

Alberta’s Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, said at a press conference that “extreme wind gusts” caused the wildfire to move about three miles “in probably less than 30 minutes,” creating a “wall of fire about 100 metres high.”

“Any firefighter will tell you when you have a wall of flames like that closing in, there’s very little you can do. No one expected it to get this big or this fast,” Ellis said.

Two wildfires have merged in the Jasper National Park area, in what officials are calling the Jasper Wildfire Complex. The exact size of the complex, which also includes a third fire burning nearby, remains difficult to gauge due to the fires’ rapid movement and thick smoke. Together, the two fires have burned an estimated 89,000 acres, according to Jasper National Park.

Smith said the damage caused by the fires will require “major rebuilding and widespread evacuations.” The most severe structural damage is on the west side of town, according to a Facebook post from Jasper National Park.

“We will recover from this,” Smith said, fighting back tears, “and for those who have experienced the magic of Jasper in Alberta and around the world, that magic has not been lost and never will be.”

Ellis said the majority of the evacuees were “visitors who plan to return elsewhere.” In addition to the roughly 5,000 residents who live in the town, 2.48 million people visited Jasper National Park last year.

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said residents will help rebuild after the wildfires “destroyed our beloved community.”

“Your resilience and strength have always been the backbone of our community, and in the days and weeks ahead, we will come together and support one another as we begin the difficult process of rebuilding,” Ireland said in a statement Thursday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all federal agencies are working together to provide resources to Jasper, assist with evacuations and strengthen the response on the ground.

“Our government is working together to keep Albertans safe and support them through this crisis,” he said on Facebook.