Park Fire near Chico explodes in size, forces evacuations. Here are the latest updates.
CHICO — Butte County has declared an emergency in response to the raging Park Fire near Chico. It's prompted a slew of evacuations that have extended into Tehama County.
The emergency declaration will allow the county to request more resources from the state.
As of early Friday morning, Cal Fire reported that the fire had burned more than 178,000 acres — some 278 square miles. Containment was at first reported to be 3%, but Cal Fire reduced it to 0% on Friday.
Cal Fire said the Park Fire was the result of suspected arson and ignited around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Upper Bidwell Park area, about four miles northeast of Chico's city center.
Cal Fire noted on Friday that 134 structures have been destroyed, while 4,200 remain threatened. No specifics have been released on the kinds of structures destroyed, but it's clear that several homes have been burned.
Ahead of the local emergency being declared, California Gov. Gavin Newsom secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to help with the state's response to the fire. His office added that 3,500 people have been forced to evacuate.
An Alert California tower camera in the area captured a fire tornado, or firenado, near Chico.
Arson suspect arrested
The Butte County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday they had arrested a man suspected of starting the fire. As detailed by the DA's office, a man was seen pushing a car that was on fire down into the gully near Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park -- allegedly spreading the flames that would become the Park Fire.
He was arrested Thursday and identified by the district attorney's office as Chico resident Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42. He was reportedly seen calmly leaving the area, trying to blend in with other people.
Alligator Hole is a popular area for people to cool off during the summer and is about six miles east of Chico's city plaza. Upper Bidwell Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation and is home to many hiking and biking trails, swimming holes and picnic areas.
Red Flag Warning
A Red Flag Warning went into effect at 1 p.m. Thursday for much of Northern California, including all of Butte and Plumas counties, as well as the eastern portion of Tehama County. The warning is set to expire at 11 p.m. Friday as the area will see gusty winds, low relative humidity and hot temperatures.
Evacuation orders and shelters
Mandatory evacuations first went into place in Butte County. The following zones are under evacuation orders: 317, 250, 251, 252, 253, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272 and 273. These zones stretch from the park and up Highway 32 through Forest Ranch to Carpenter Ridge. It also includes Cohasset Ridge and Keefer Ridge.
Evacuation warnings in Butte County are for zones 236, 237, 244, 281, 283, 282, 286, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 318, 361, and 363. These zones stretch from Butte Meadows to the Inskip area down to Butte Creek Canyon along the east side of the mandatory evacuation zones. It also includes the Chico airport to Highway 99.
On Friday afternoon, the sheriff's office downgraded zones 311, 312, 313 and 318 from an order to a warning, allowing residents in those zones to return home.
The sheriff's office issued evacuation warnings Friday for the Butte Meadows area, including zones 237 and 236.
Several zones in the City of Chico jurisdiction were under evacuation orders, including zones 150-A and 149, but those were downgraded to warnings. Chico's zone 120, which included Upper Bidwell Park, remains in an evacuation order.
Evacuation warnings were issued for portions of the town of Paradise, including zones 1, 4 and 9. This includes a portion of Skyway and Honey Run Road.
For Tehama County, mandatory evacuations are in place for zones 500, 694-B, 696-A, 720-B, 726, 728, 732, 734, 736, 852, 854, 856, 858, 882-A and 882-B. Areas included in the zones are the Ishi Wilderness and Tehama Wildlife Area.
Tehama evacuation warnings were issued for zones 464, 466, 468, 496, 498, 649-A, 470, 472, 474, 476, 478, 480, 496-B, 698, 708, 710, 712, 714, 716, 718, 720-A, 722, 724, 730, 840, 850-A, 852, 854-B and 882-A.
An evacuation shelter was set up at Neighborhood Church at 2801 Notre Dame Blvd. in Chico. A shelter for small animals is operating at 2279 Del Oro, in Oroville. Large animals can be taken to Camelot Equestrian Park at 1985 Clark Rd. in Oroville.
Butte County residents can view a live evacuation map here. Tehama County residents can view a live evacuation map here.
In Butte County, Cohasset Road was closed at Rock Creek, and Upper Park Road was closed at Wildwood, Cal Fire said. Additionally, Highway 32 is closed from Bruce Road in Chico to Highway 36.
Butte County has had a very busy fire season this summer. The Thomspon 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.
The Park Fire is burning just west of where the destructive Camp and Dixie fires happened in Butte County.
The 2021 Dixie Fire burned nearly 1 million acres across Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Lassen and Tehama counties.
Further back in 2018, the Camp Fire burned more than 150,000 acres in Butte County, nearly destroying the town of Paradise. It is the deadliest fire in state history, killing 85 people.
