Historic Park Fire surpasses 402,000 acres as California wildfire activity surges 2,816%
The Park Fire is now the fourth largest wildfire to ever tear across California. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Monday the fire has grown to 402,042 acres and is more than a third contained after days of destroying hundreds of structures.
The state is currently battling 16 active wildfires, with the Park Fire the largest by far as it spreads across four counties and Lassen National Forest. Of the active fires across the state, the causes of 14 remain under investigation. One — the Gold Complex Fire in Plumas County — was started by lightning.
Cal Fire said nearly 96,000 acres of the Park Fire involves Forest Service land, where the agency "is well established," as more than 1,000 firefighters alone tackle this area. The fire was started over a week ago after a man was seen allegedly pushing a burning car into a ravine. The suspect, Ronnie Stout, who was charged with reckless arson, appeared in court for the first time Monday.
The Park Fire is only part of a far larger problem. Cal Fire said this week that wildfire activity is 2,816% higher than last year for the same time period.
"As of July 30, 2024, wildfires have scorched a staggering 751,327 acres across our state," Cal Fire wrote on social media. "This year's wildfire activity is 2,816% higher than last year, 29 times the amount of acreage burned."
This year's fires are far above both last year's numbers and the five-year average, the department found. In 2023, there were 3,746 fires burning 25,763 acres through July 30, while the five-year average for the period is 4,416 fires and 140,996 acres.
The Park Fire was at 34% containment as of Monday and has grown so much that it is now the fourth-largest wildfire recorded in state history, trailing behind the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire, which burned 459,123 acres.
Cal Fire said that "record-level low moistures" are helping fuel the flames. The fire is also finding its way into deep drainages and lava rock while thick smoke has limited visibility for responders, making fire suppression challenging, the department said.
After a weekend of "critical" fire weather with low humidity and triple-digit temperatures, Cal Fire said in its latest update that "hotter weather, drier conditions, and increased wind speed contributed to increased fire activity."
"Although smoke conditions were more favorable Sunday, increased smoke is expected today, especially over the northeast portion of the fire where the fire is active," Cal Fire said on Monday. "Highs will reach the lower 100s today while the minimum relative humidity will dip to the lower to mid-teens. Winds could gust to the near 20mph range in the afternoon."
Crews are working on more than 200 miles of active fire front, the department previously said, with the terrain complicating efforts to communicate via radio and tackle the blaze as a whole.
Cal Fire also said in its latest update that it has completed its damage assessment and that 640 structures, including homes, have been destroyed. Another 52 have been damaged.
"It's all gone," Mike Wittenberg told CBS News Bay Area, tearing up while kneeling in the ashes of what used to be his 4-year-old daughter's room.
"I'm pretty destroyed right now," he said after seeing the devastation of his family of five's home in Forest Ranch. "I held out hope, hoping that something would still be here. ... I didn't think it was actually going to take our house."
