The Park Fire has burned across an estimated 307,368 acres in Northern California’s Butte and Tehama counties, becoming one of the state’s largest wildfires on record.
By Friday morning, the fire had crossed Highway 36 at Paynes Creek, roughly 40 miles northwest from where it was ignited by arson Wednesday afternoon in Chico’s Bidwell Park. There was no containment.
The fire has been driven primarily by south winds, which have pushed it north. The eastern flank of the fire has held for more than 24 hours at Highway 32 between Forest Ranch and Chico. There has been some eastward spread above Forest Ranch, pushing toward Forest Ranch Cemetery, and in the area of Platt Mountain Lookout. The relative stability of the fire perimeter on the eastern flank over the past 24 hours is good news for Paradise, which authorities have placed under an evacuation advisory.
There was also very minimal spread on the western side of the fire, and it’s looking unlikely under current conditions that the fire will spread into Chico.
The Park Fire has become the eighth-largest fire in California’s modern history, since the state began keeping records roughly a century ago.
While the human impacts of the fire are massive, the fire has ecological benefits. Much of the area it is burning in would normally burn every 10 to 15 years without human intervention to stop lightning-sparked fires, and fire can create healthier landscapes.
Authorities have arrested a man accused of starting the Park Fire by pushing a burning car into a gulley in Bidwell Park.
Stay tuned to The Lookout for updates on the Park Fire. For more details and analysis on the fire’s current movement, check out this morning’s livestream: