Cal Fire crews work to contain northeast portion of the Park Fire: ‘Stay in the fight’
Thick smoke from the Park Fire burning northeast of Chico was expected to increase humidity and slightly cool active parts of the Northern California wildfire until later Wednesday afternoon.
The Park Fire, as of Wednesday morning, had burned a total of 420,827 acres (657 square miles), and containment of the wildfire remained 34%, according to Cal Fire. The fire has burned more than 367,000 acres in Tehama County and nearly 53,000 acres in Butte County. The wildfire has also affected areas in Plumas and Shasta counties.
The wildfire remained active overnight due to poor humidity recovery, producing uphill runs and intense fire behavior, according to a Cal Fire Wednesday morning situation summary. Cal Fire officials expect the blaze to continue to burn actively, moving to the north and east, ascending slopes with critically dry vegetation.
Cal Fire Incident Commander Billy See, speaking at a Wednesday morning operational briefing, said he’s concerned about what will happen when the smoke dissipates and humidity levels drop over areas where the flames are actively burning.
“The lid is on this thing right now, it’s preheating,” See told firefighters preparing for the day shift. “Once we get a breath of fresh air, this thing is going to want to stand up and move.”
He asked fire crews to pay attention to their surroundings and the fire behavior, and disengage when they need to for their own safety and re-engage the blaze when the time is right.
Ground crews continue to battle high heat and deep drainages, engaging the fire offensively where it’s safe to do so, according to Cal Fire. Officials expect a weather system to move into the area later in the week, bringing an increase in humidity.
The Park Fire remained the fourth-largest wildfire in California recorded history. The August Complex Fire that burned 1.032 million acres in seven Northern California counties is the largest in state history; it killed one person and destroyed 935 structures.
Mark Brunton, Cal Fire operations Sections chief, asked fire crews to maintain their situational awareness and not get complacent, but they have to still “stay aggressive and stay in the fight.”
“This is the kind of fire behavior that is unprecedented,” Brunton said in Wednesday morning’s briefing. “For this fire to jump up into the top five most destructive fires in California history says something. And you’re seeing it out there.”
The Park Fire has destroyed 636 structures and damaged 49 others in Butte and Tehama counties, according to Cal Fire’s revised numbers. The total includes infrastructure.
In Butte County, the fire destroyed 428 structures and damaged 47 others. Cal Fire said the fire destroyed 212 structures in Tehama County, damaging five others.
The total acreage burned includes over 107,000 acres in Lassen National Forest. Cal Fire officials said firefighters overnight attacked the fire directly where flames crossed Highway 172, and ground crews and aircraft continued to aggressively attack and hold the fire with safety as their top priority.
Wednesday marked the 14th day the Park Fire has been burning since it started in Butte County just east of Chico in a suspected act of arson.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico is accused of pushing a a burning car into a gully in Upper Bidwell on July 24, igniting what would become the Park Fire before emerging from heavy vegetation along the hiking path and joining evacuees fleeing the area, prosecutors have said.
