California’s largest wildfire of the year has burned an area larger than the size of the city of Phoenix, destroyed dozens of buildings and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes as wildfires wreak havoc in the Western United States. Meanwhile, homes and businesses in a popular Canadian resort town were incinerated as a wildfire continued to roar through the area. Here’s the latest:
• California’s Park Fire now state’s 7th largest: Even with Saturday’s weather working in favor of firefighters, the massive Park Fire continued to devour huge amounts of land in parts of Butte and Tehama counties, north of Sacramento, California. The blaze has grown to more than 350,000 acres, or 546 square miles, according to Cal Fire, making it the seventh-largest wildfire in recorded state history. Containment for the fire, which is now bigger than the city of Los Angeles, is now at 10%.
• California governor declares state of emergency: Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for both counties Friday. The state also secured a federal grant to ensure there are enough resources to fight the blaze.
• A man is accused of igniting Park Fire: Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, was arrested on suspicion of pushing a burning car 60 feet into a gully, “spreading flames that caused the Park Fire,” authorities said. The DA says the man was seen “calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.” Stout, who has not retained an attorney, will likely face an arson charge, the DA’s office told CNN.
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https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/27/us/california-chico-park-fire-canada-jasper-fire/index.html