Evacuations ordered as fire threatens structures near Chico’s Bidwell Park, authorities say

Camila Pedrosa
·2 min read

A wildfire broke out near Upper Bidwell Park in Chico on Wednesday afternoon and is growing at a “moderate pace,” prompting law enforcement to call for an evacuation orders, authorities said.

Rick Carhart, spokesperson for Cal Fire’s Butte Unit, said Cal Fire is working in coordination with Chico Fire Department to attack the blaze, which he said is in a “multi-agency threat zone.” Bidwell Park is within Chico’s city boundaries but the fire is threatening Cal Fire’s jurisdiction as well.

The fire quickly grew from 40 acres to 500 acres, according to the Cal Fire website. By 6 p.m., the Park Fire had charred about 1,000 acres.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office at 4:45 p.m. issued evacuation warnings for zones 317 and 318, which include sparse territory north and northwest of Bidwell Park. The warning was updated to an order about 30 minutes later, according to the Sheriff’s Office social media page.

It includes areas west of Musty Buck Ridge, extending south to Thorntree Drive and north to Cohasset Road, according to the county’s evacuation map.

Deputies also upgraded evacuation warnings to evacuation orders in zones 252 and 253 in the town of Cohasset. The areas included land north of Cohasset Road, extending up to Cohasset Ridge, according to the map.

Shortly before 6 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders for Zones 250, 251, 313 and 312 in Cohasset.

Images from UC San Diego’s AlertCalifornia cameras showed numerous houses just south of where the fire was burning.

Carhart could not confirm how many structures are threatened, but he said it is likely that “plenty of structures” could be threatened.

AlertCalifornia images showed a dark plume of smoke rising over a hill in the Bidwell Park area at around 2:45 p.m., and by 4 p.m., it had spread widely and smoke plumes were growing.

According to the National Weather Service, the weather at Chico Municipal Airport, near Bidwell Park, at 4:20 p.m. was 104 degrees with 19 mph winds.

The Bee’s Rosalio Ahumada and Ishani Desai contributed to this story.