How many homes has the Park Fire destroyed? Cal Fire releases Butte and Tehama numbers
The Park Fire has destroyed more than 360 structures as the wildfire continued to burn into its eighth day in Butte and Tehama counties after an alleged act of arson sparked the blaze in Upper Bidwell Park east of Chico.
The Park Fire, as of Wednesday morning, has burned a total of 389,791 acres (609 square miles), and 18% of the wildfire has been contained, according to Cal Fire. The fire has burned more than 337,000 acres in Tehama County and nearly 53,000 acres in Butte County. The wildfire has also affected areas in Plumas and Shasta counties.
“The Park Fire continues to burn very actively at multiple locations around the perimeter,” according to Cal Fire Wednesday morning update. “Smoke is expected to be more widespread with very limited and late clearing.”
Cal Fire officials expect weather conditions to become much warmer and drier later this week, along with some winds and a potential for thunderstorms. Cal Fire said the high temperatures and low relative humidity dropping into the teens, along with poor nighttime moisture recoveries, will allow for increased fire activity and extreme fire behavior.
The fire has destroyed 361 structures and damaged 36 others, as of Wednesday morning. The total number of structures includes infrastructure. Over 5,800 firefighting personnel were battling the blaze. No fatalities or injuries have been reported.
Cal Fire Incident Commander Billy See said there were 11 two-person damage inspections teams tasked with the entire perimeter and interior of Park Fire. As of Tuesday afternoon, the teams had completed inspections at 55% of the affected structures in Butte County.
The teams in Butte County had conducted 682 inspections, so far. See said 139 structures had been destroyed, including 87 single-family homes.
“There is a 76% survival rate of all structures within Butte County that has been assessed thus far,” See said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference.
In Tehama County, the teams had completed inspections in 75% of the affected structures. See said the fire has destroyed 55 structures in Tehama County, including 29 single-family family homes. The fire also damaged two other structures, and the survival rate was at 76% of structures that have been inspected.
In the week since the blaze erupted, the Park Fire has become the fifth-largest wildfire in California’s recorded history. And it’s still growing, increasing in size by about 3,000 acres since Tuesday night.
See, Cal Fire’s incident commander, said the Park Fire also is the second-largest wildfire started by a single ignition source in California history. He said only the Dixie Fire, which started in July 2021 in Butte County and burned nearly a million acres, was larger.
“This region has been impacted over the last several years by multiple large damaging and destroying wildfires,” See told news reporters.
The Dixie Fire destroyed more than 1,300 homes and buildings in five Northern California counties. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials have said they accept Cal Fire’s finding that a tree falling into a PG&E power line caused the fire.
As of Tuesday, 4,613 wildfires this year in California have burned 751,327 acres throughout the state. Cal Fire officials said this year’s wildfire activity, so far, was 29 times the amount of acreage burned last year in California.
The wildfires this year are simply much larger than the previous two years. In 2023, 3,736 wildfires burned 25,763 acres in California, according to Cal Fire.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico is accused of pushing a a burning car into a gully in Upper Bidwell on July 24, igniting what would become the Park Fire before emerging from heavy vegetation along the hiking path and joining evacuees fleeing the area, prosecutors have said.
Stout, who made his first appearance on Monday in Butte Superior Court, was scheduled to return to court Thursday. Prosecutors have charged Stout with arson of an inhabited structure or property. The felony charge includes an enhancement with special circumstances, along with three enhancements related to prior strike convictions considered strikes under California “Three Strikes Law.”
At Tuesday’s news conference, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said about 2,000 residents remained under a mandatory evacuation orders, mostly in the Cohasset area. Honea spoke about two women arrested Monday evening after they allegedly ran into an evacuated area. Deputies had responded to a report of possible looters at the intersection of Sycamore Valley and Cohasset roads in Chico.
“I guess we’re going to file this one under you play stupid games and you’re going to get stupid prizes,” Honea said. “We’re serious about this. If you try to get into the area, we’re going to take enforcement action.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 9:37 AM.
