California wildfire now fourth largest in state history, hot weather offers no relief
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Firefighters monitor a controlled burn set along Highway 32 near Chico, California, while battling the Park Fire, on July 29, 2024.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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CHICO, California - More than 6,000 firefighters in California’s Central Valley continued to battle the largest blaze in the US on Aug 3, which burned its way into the history books as the state’s fourth largest conflagration on record.
There was barely a taste of rain on Aug 3 from thunderstorms that brought wind and rainfalls of zero to 2.54mm of precipitation, forecasters said.
The 37.7 deg C heat, along with winds up to 40kmh or more in some spots, offered little relief to the firefighters trying to contain the Park Fire, scorching the wilderness terrain some 160.9km north of Sacramento, the state capital.
“We had some thunderstorms that just brought us down-drafts, that’s a problem,” said Christopher Young, a spokesman for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. “Lightning is a factor we worry about,” he said.
Blazes from the Park Fire, started by an alleged arsonist
The 42-year-old man arrested has not entered a plea as of Aug 3, but was charged with arson and held without bail, officials said.
More than 560 homes and other structures were destroyed since the blaze started 11 days ago, feeding off of downed timber and tinder dry grass and brush. The fire was 27 per cent contained on Aug 3, officials said.
More than 4,000 people were evacuated in the Park Fire including retiree Jim Young, 65, of Red Bluff, California, where he lived in a trailer home with his dog, a black Labrador Retriever named Sparky.
He and the dog spent the last eight days camped out with some other families in a gravel lot at a wilderness trailhead about 9.65km from his home, worrying every day if it was safe.
“We just found out we can go home,” Mr Young told Reuters on the evening of Aug 3. “Our property is safe. So many lost everything. But me and Sparky can go home now.”
The rough, wilderness terrain means it takes 2-to-3 hours to reach the fire lines, officials said. Some firefighters are being flown to the front lines by helicopters, some expected to stay there for days with supplies also flown in.
The national wildfire season has had an intense start, raising the risk of stretching fire-fighting resources too thin. The centre has already requested help from firefighters in Australia and New Zealand, who will arrive starting Aug 7 and deploy to Oregon and Washington. REUTERS
