Park Fire grows to more than 400,000 acres, now 4th-largest in California history
By Raja Razek and Jay Croft, CNN
(CNN) — The fourth-largest wildfire in California’s history has grown to 400,956 acres, destroying 564 structures and damaging 50 as of Saturday morning, according to an update from Cal Fire.
“The Park Fire has been extremely active over the last 24 hours,” Cal Fire said. “Hot and dry weather has reduced moisture levels in vegetation across the fire area. Atmospheric instability has caused the fire to remain active, even during the overnight hours.”
The Park Fire is burning in Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama counties and is 27% contained, according to the update.
It surpasses the SCU Lightning Complex which burned in the greater Bay Area and Northern San Joaquin Valley regions in August 2020, destroying 225 structures.
“Crews are making good progress building containment lines. However, firefighters are still actively engaging in fire suppression to an area spanning 175-miles,” the update read.
“Hot temperatures are expected through the weekend and into Sunday, increasing the chance for active fire behavior and long-range spotting,” it said.
As of Friday, 94 large wildfires raged across multiple states, and 28 had evacuation orders, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Fires are also burning in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Utah, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nevada.
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