Park Fire near Chico explodes in size, forces evacuations; arson suspect arrested
CHICO — A suspect is now under arrest in connection to the massive Park Fire that has prompted evacuations to be ordered in parts of Butte and Tehama counties.
On Wednesday, Cal Fire said the Park Fire ignited in the Upper Bidwell Park area near Chico. The fire has burned 71,489 acres to the north of the park and containment was at 3% containment as of Thursday afternoon.
According to Cal Fire, the Park Fire ignited just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
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.
The man was reportedly seen calmly leaving the area, trying to blend in with other people. However, the man has since been identified and he was arrested on Thursday.
The name of the arson suspect has not been released, but the DA's office noted he is a 42-year-old Chico resident.
Evacuation orders and shelters
Mandatory evacuations first went into place in Butte County. The following zones are under evacuation orders: 317, 318, 252, 253, 250, 251, 313, 312, 260, 262, 265, 266, 269, 268, 271, 261, 311 and 272. These zones stretch from the west side of the park up north to the Cohasset and Forest Ranch areas and to the west and north side of Chico Regional Airport.
Evacuation warnings in Butte County are for zones 273, 311, 314, 315 and 316 on the west side of the airport.
Several zones in the City of Chico jurisdiction are also under evacuation orders: 120, 149, and 150.
For Tehama County, mandatory evacuations were later added for zones 736, 854, 856, 858, 882 A and 882 B.
Tehama evacuation warnings were issued for zones 726, 728, 732, 734 and 852.
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.
Butte County's recent wildfires
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.
