Multiple wildfires continued raging overnight in northern California amid dry conditions, high temperatures and wind, prompting the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, to declare a state of emergency in three counties.
Newsom’s emergency declaration for the counties of Plumas, Butte and Tehama came as thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes. Hundreds of houses and other buildings have also been destroyed, though no deaths have been reported.
“We are using every available tool to protect lives and property as our fire and emergency response teams work around the clock to combat these challenging fires,” Newsom said in a statement.
The Park fire, currently the largest of the year in California, was ravaging more than 307,000 acres (124,238 hectares) – an area nearly the size of Los Angeles – across Butte and Tehama counties as of early Saturday. Dry conditions had spurred the fire to increase at an alarmingly rapid pace overnight, according to California’s department of forestry and fire protection.
While lightning caused some of California’s ongoing wildfires, arson sparked the Park blaze, authorities said.
Investigators allege that the fire started when a man identified as Ronnie Dean Stout was seen pushing a burning car into a ravine near Chico on Wednesday, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Police said they arrested him Thursday after he fled the scene with others as the fire spread.
Stout remained in the Butte county jail on Saturday and was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
The Park fire had destroyed more than 130 structures as of Saturday, when thousands more buildings remained in danger of being engulfed in flames.
“There’s a tremendous amount of fuel out there and it’s going to continue with this rapid pace,” Billy See, Cal Fire incident commander, said at a briefing. He said the fire was advancing up to 8 sq miles (21 sq kms) an hour on Friday afternoon.
The evolving threat forced many residents to flee their homes, including Carli Parker.
Parker told the Associated Press that she decided to leave her home in Forest Ranch with her family when the fire began burning across the street. “I think I felt like I was in danger because the police had come to our house because we had signed up for early evacuation warnings, and they were running to their vehicle after telling us that we need to self-evacuate, and they wouldn’t come back,” Parker, a mother of five, said.
She said she had little hope that her home would remain unscathed by the fire.
Another Forest Ranch evacuee, Sherry Alpers, said that she had chosen to stay in her car outside a Red Cross shelter in Chico with her 12 small dogs when she learned animals were not allowed inside.
She added that she doesn’t know whether her home was still standing, but that as long as her dogs were safe, she didn’t care about the material things. “I’m kind of worried, but not that much,” she said. “If it’s gone, it’s gone.”
Nearby, Brian Bowles had also opted to stay with his dog Diamon in his car outside the shelter.
Bowles had received a $100 gift card from the United Way non-profit charity. “Now the question is, do I get a motel room and comfortable for one night? Or do I put gas in the car and sleep in here?” he said. “Tough choice.”
Smoke from the Park fire had begun to have an effect on air quality by early Saturday. The Tehama county air pollution control district said conditions would range from “moderate” to “very unhealthy” in the morning and evening hours as smoke drifted over the region.
Meanwhile, the Gold Complex fires, caused by lightning, were burning across 3,000 acres in the Plumas national forest. Fire crews had made progress battling that cluster of fires, 50 miles (80km) north-west of Reno.
In fact, most of the 1,000 residents who had evacuated the area were returning to their homes Friday, according to the Associated Press.
A total of more than 110 fires covering 2,800 sq miles (7,250 sq kms) were burning in the US on Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Oregon’s Durkee fire, which started on 17 July, has been the largest active fire in the US – it was about 20% contained on Friday, according to officials.
Parts of Canada are also grappling with wildfires.
Heatwaves and historic drought stemming from climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, have made wildfires in the US west more challenging to fight.
Associated Press contributed to this report