The explosive spread of the park fire continued overnight and firefighters predict one other day of gusty winds and low humidity.
As of early Friday, it was 164,286 acres (256 square miles), CalFire said. That's greater than 4 times the scale of this yr's second-largest fire, Lake, which burned 38,664 acres in Santa Barbara County.
The map above shows the approximate extent of the Park Fire as a black line and the evacuation area in red.
CalFire investigators say the fireplace began when a person pushed a burning automobile down an embankment right into a brush-strewn ravine. A suspect has been arrested.
The evacuation orders covered greater than 630 square miles in Butte and Tehama counties, and extra areas were covered by the order on Friday.
At a press conference Thursday, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea expressed frustration that many residents weren’t complying with requests to evacuate the world. He pointed to the death toll from the 2018 Camp Fire and said, “I don't know how to keep saying this. People have to know their areas. … Also, you have to be prepared to evacuate the area.”
Honea said he encountered “numerous people unwilling to leave” within the evacuation zone in Cohasset Township on Wednesday evening, including three whose cars had run out of gas. The fire raged in Cohasset on Thursday.
Evacuation orders were issued late Thursday afternoon for Doe Mill Ridge in Butte County and for greater than 100 square miles of Tehama County north of the fireplace area. Warnings were issued for Helltown, Centerville and parts of Paradise.
A forest fire warning is in effect for the region until 11 p.m. Friday, indicating the weather conditions.
For more information on the evacuation zone, including warning areas, see Butte County Evacuation card or the Genasys Protect Card (Tehama County only).
Originally published:
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