The largest wildfire to hit California this year was apparently caused by one man’s bizarre and selfish behavior.
An unidentified 42-year-old Chico man was allegedly caught pushing a burning car into a ravine at the top of Bidwell Park shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced.
The vehicle then plunged 60 feet down an embankment, sparking the fire, which engulfed more than 71,000 acres of Northern California overnight and prompted mass evacuations. According to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“The man was seen calmly leaving the area, mingling with other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire,” the District Attorney’s Office said.
‘Cal Fire arson investigators responded, secured the scene and began searching for clues to identify the unknown man.’
An unidentified 42-year-old man allegedly started a wildfire in California after pushing a burning car into a ravine.
The Park Fire in Butte County has burned 71,000 acres, making it the largest in the state so far this year.
Authorities finally identified the suspect early Thursday morning and took him into custody.
He was then booked into the Butte County Jail, where he is being held without bail, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which said it will release the man’s name later Thursday.
Meanwhile, more than 1,100 firefighters are battling the blaze at the park, compared with just 200 who were on the front lines at dawn.
The Chico Fire Department has said it is using all of the city’s fire trucks and that agencies from across Northern California are on the way to help. according to KCRA.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also announced it is authorizing federal funding to help fight the fire as it continues to destroy homes and other structures.
More than 1,100 firefighters are now battling the blaze at the park, up from 200 who were on the front lines at dawn.
The fire was only 3 percent contained as of Thursday night.
The extent of the damage caused by the park fire remains unclear as Cal Fire officials have not yet begun counting the number of structures destroyed.
But officials have said it is the largest fire California has seen all year, and the fifth-largest in the state in the past three years.
More than 3,500 people have already been displaced as evacuation orders remain in effect for large swaths of areas in Butte and Tehama counties, and several other areas in each county were under evacuation orders as of Thursday night.
At the time, the fire was only 3 percent contained, though officials fear it could soon spread to more populated areas as fire conditions escalate.
More than 3,500 people have already been displaced as evacuation orders remain in effect.
National Weather Service forecasters have warned that wind gusts of up to 30 mph could push the fire farther north.
Combined with low humidity and temperatures between 95 and 100 degrees through Friday night, forecasters say it “may cause new fires to start and ongoing wildfires to… grow rapidly and dangerously in size and intensity.”
Additionally, strong southeasterly winds in the Sacramento Valley, combined with strong southwesterly winds on ridge tops, could allow the fire to “breathe,” potentially causing it to spread even more rapidly, the Chronicle reports.
Firefighters have said they are hampered by the area’s steep terrain and are using aircraft to help put out the blaze.
The fire is now burning northward toward the Ishi Wilderness Area and the Lassen Hills, where experts say there has been no fire activity in decades (if not a century).
“Once it got into that area, it had a lot of fuel to burn,” said Dan Collins, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Butte Unit. he told the Los Angeles Times.
There, the fire managed to destroy new grasses that emerged after two consecutive wet winters, said Zeke Lunder, a fire specialist and geographer in Chico.
But it really picked up speed when it reached higher vegetation, with oaks and grapevines that, when burning, spit out embers that can be carried by the wind to start new fires.
The fire has already destroyed some homes and other structures in its path.
The extent of the damage remains unclear as officials have yet to count the number of structures destroyed.
The fire is now expected to continue growing in the coming days, Lunder said, noting that it is not unusual for fires of this size to double in size each day.
“It’s a big problem,” he said.
“Unless you can get people on the ground to establish fire lines, aircraft alone aren’t necessarily going to put this fire out, and the area where it’s burning is extremely rugged,” with steep, inaccessible terrain.
Collins even admitted that fire crews are having trouble getting resources to the edges of the fire, which has the potential to spread into the town of Cohasset, which Lunder said would be a “worst case scenario” and could result in significant structural loss.
Collins says more containment is now needed to protect nearby communities and more evacuation orders could be issued.
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