Wind, temperatures pick up as fire scorches northern California

Los Angeles – Crews continued to fight a massive fire in northern California on July 28, as the authorities in the western US state warned of increasing winds and rising daytime temperatures.

The so-called Park Fire outside of Chico had burned more than 144,500ha as at the afternoon of July 28, said Cal Fire incident commander Billy See,

making it the seventh-largest ever recorded in the state’s history

.

Progress was made amid light wind and cool weather on July 27, allowing firefighters to declare 12 per cent of the blaze controlled, Mr See told a news conference.

But he warned that as of July 28, “we’re starting to get some solar heating, and we’re also getting increased winds in the upper canyons”, while another official noted “increased fire activity”.

The fire, which has prompted orders for some 4,200 people to flee their homes in Butte County, is burning through a largely rural, mountainous area about 145km north of state capital Sacramento.

Firefighters are facing multiple challenges, including rugged terrain, said operations section chief Mark Brunton.

“We’re starting to see increased fire activity,” he said.

Some 4,000 personnel are working on the fire, which has also drawn aircraft and bulldozers in the fight.

No deaths have been reported, though 67 structures have been either damaged or destroyed, Mr See said.

The fire is split between Butte County, where 21,400ha have burned, and neighbouring Tehema County, where 12,300ha have gone up in flames.

The blaze has generated an enormous column of dense gray smoke, which has also been blown over nearby states.

On July 25,

police detained a 42-year-old man on suspicion of having started the fire by pushing a burning car into a ravine.

Chico is only about 24km from Paradise, a city devastated by a 2018 fire that ranked as California’s most deadly ever, claiming 85 lives.

Experts say climate change, accelerated by human action, is leading to more extreme weather events.

In Oregon, the Durkee Fire, which was sparked by a lightning strike earlier in July, has consumed nearly 117,000ha and was about 50 per cent contained, the state’s wildfire response and recovery agency said.

In western Canada, wildfires destroyed nearly a third of the beloved tourist town of Jasper before they were put under control on July 28. AFP