Park Fire in Northern California continues its rapid growth; arson suspect arrested: "We're shellshocked"
The Park Fire, one of many wildfires raging in Northern California, grew from a small brush fire in Chico to the largest blaze in the state in less than two days. A man suspected of starting the fire has been arrested.
The Park Fire started Wednesday afternoon in a park and grew from about 6,400 acres late Wednesday night to 45,550 acres Thursday morning. As of Friday evening, it had grown five-fold to a staggering 239,100 acres — some 373 square miles. Containment had been at 3%, but it fell to zero percent.
"This fire has fingers that are growing in different directions depending on which way the wind is blowing," Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.
Cal Fire incident commander Billy See said in a news conference Friday afternoon that the blaze was spreading at a rate of 4,000 to 5,000 acres per hour, according to CBS Sacramento.
Honea said Friday afternoon that about 4,000 Butte County residents were under evacuation orders, per CBS Sacramento, and evacuation orders had also been issued in three California counties, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas.
Jerry Himango, who lost his home in 2018's Camp Fire that devastated the town of Paradise, stayed in his Chico home as the Park Fire roared through his neighborhood. He said his home has a 200-foot clearance of heavy vegetation to keep fires at bay.
"It was just … like a freight train coming through," Himango told CBS News Sacramento. "Within an hour, hour and a half, it came from the bottom of the canyon right through this area here and just kept on chugging up the hill."
Cal Fire arson investigators have arrested a 42-year-old Chico man on suspicion of starting the blaze, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced. Officials later identified the suspect as Ronnie Dean Stout II.
His arrest followed reports of a man seen pushing a burning car into a gully at around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the upper part of Bidwell Park, where the blaze broke out, the district attorney said. The car slid 60 feet down an embankment and went up in flames completely, sparking the Park Fire.
Ramsey said the man was then seen calmly leaving the area among other residents who fled as the fire rapidly grew. A local judge issued an arrest warrant Thursday morning, and Stout was booked into the Butte County Jail, where the warrant stipulated he would be held without bond until his arraignment on Monday.
Authorities in Butte County and neighboring Tehama County issued numerous evacuation orders and warnings as the Park Fire developed, CBS News Sacramento reported. Shelters were set up for people and for animals impacted by the fire, and California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Friday evening for Butte and Tehama counties, as well as for Northern California's Plumas County due to the Gold Complex fires, which have burned just over 3,000 acres.
The Gold Complex fires were four lightning-sparked fires which broke out near the community of Portola in the Plumas National Forest and forced evacuations. Some of those fires merged into the Mill and Smith fires. Together, they were 11% contained at last report Friday.
Officials said Friday morning that 134 structures have been destroyed in the Park Fire. CBS Sacramento has captured footage of several homes that were lost.
Julia Yarbough watched her house burn on her home security camera.
"We're shellshocked right now," she told CBS News' Jonathan Vigliotti, who was with her as she returned for the first time. "It really is surreal." Yarbough is a former news anchor for Action News Now, a CBS affiliate in Chico. She was also an anchor and reporter for KCBS in Los Angeles.
Newsom Thursday announced that the state received a grant from Federal Emergency Management Agency to bolster California's response to the fast-moving blaze. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the grant had been issued.
Cal Fire said more than 1,600 personnel were fighting the blaze with the assistance of six water-dropping helicopters.
Even after the arson suspect's arrest on Thursday, an investigation into the Park Fire and its cause remained ongoing, said Ramsey.
The Park Fire is currently the largest, but far from the only, wildfire burning in California. And farther north, in Oregon, the Durkee Fire grew so large and powerful it created its own weather.
Butte County's recent wildfires
Butte County has had a very busy fire season this summer, CBS News Sacramento points out.
The Thompson Fire in the Oroville area recently scorched more than 3,700 acres, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and destroyed dozens of structures, including houses.
The day after the Thompson Fire started, the Grubbs Fire just south of that in Palermo was much smaller but also forced evacuations.
In mid-July, the Railbridge Fire, just south of Palermo, burned 130 acres, forced evacuations, destroyed or damaged several structures and injured at least one person.
Back in June, the Apache Fire, which burned in the same general area near Oroville and Palermo, scorched nearly 700 acres and forced its own round of evacuations.
Nearly two weeks before the Apache Fire, the Junes Fire burned nearly 1,100 acres in Palermo and also forced people from their homes.
In 2018, the Camp Fire charred more than 150,000 acres in Butte County, nearly destroying the town of Paradise. Eighty-five people died in the Camp Fire, making it the deadliest in state history.