FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of firefighters battling a wildfire in Northern California received some help from the weather Saturday hours after it exploded in size, scorching an area greater than the size of Los Angeles. The blaze was one of several tearing through the western United States and Canada, fueled by wind and heat.
Cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity could help slow the Park Fire, the largest this year in California. Its intensity and dramatic spread led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp Fire, which burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.
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Firefighter Michael Benson, center, rubs his face during a briefing while battling the Park Fire in Tehama County, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter rests during a break from battling the Park Fire in Tehama County, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter sprays water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Volunteer firefighter Craig Klieb sprays water around his house as the Park Fire burns nearby in Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. Until a few years ago, (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Flames leap above fire vehicles as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A resident turns around while trying to evacuate as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Firefighters watch from their buggy as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the overview of the Park Fire in Chico, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Flames burn as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter sprays water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Smoke from the Park Fire casts an orange glow above a hillside burned in a previous wildfire in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Volunteer firefighter Craig Klieb sprays water around his house as the Park Fire burns nearby in Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A helicopter drops water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Rail posts burn along Highway 36 as the Park Fire spreads near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Andrea Douglas holds her head while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames consume a vehicle as the Park Fire jburns in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames consume structures as the Park Fire burns in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Smoke rises above the roadway as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Grant Douglas pauses while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A dog being safeguarded by fire support personnel sits beside Cohasset Rd. as the Park Fire burns in the Cohasset community in Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Cal Fire firefighter Christian Moorhouse, center, monitors the flames while defends a mobile home during the Park Fire in the community of Cohasset near Chico, Calif., Thursday, July 25, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Seen from Chico, Calif., an air tanker passes a plume from the Park Fire burning in Butte County on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Animals evacuate as the Park Fire burns through the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Firefighter Christian Moorhouse battles the Park Fire tears through the Cohasset community in Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. His crew was able to keep flames from reaching the mobile home they were protecting. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
People evacuate their horse as the the River Fire moves through wheat fields Thursday, July 25, 2024, as seen from near Culdesac, Idaho. Lightning strikes have sparked fast-moving wildfires in Idaho, prompting the evacuation of multiple communities. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
The remains of a hotel is seen in Jasper, Alta., on Friday July 26, 2024. Wildfires encroaching into the townsite of Jasper forced an evacuation of the national park. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)
Damage is seen after a wildfire in Jasper, Alberta, Friday July 26, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)
Firefighter Christian Moorhouse jumps over a fence while battling the Park Fire in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. His crew was able to keep flames from reaching the mobile home they were protecting. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Seen in a long exposure photograph, the Park Fire burns along Highway 32 in the Forest Ranch community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A vehicle drives past the spreading River Fire Thursday, July 25, 2024, near Myrtle, Idaho, before U.S. Highway 12 was closed. Lightning strikes have sparked fast-moving wildfires in Idaho, prompting the evacuation of multiple communities. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
Embers spark a spot fire as the Park Fire burns below Highway 32 near Lomo in Butte County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter pauses while trying to keep the Park Fire from jumping Highway 32 near Forest Ranch in Butte County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Grant Douglas pauses to drink water while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames leap above fire vehicles as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Paradise again was near the danger zone. The entire town was under an evacuation warning, one of several communities in Butte County. Evacuation orders were also issued in Plumas, Tehama and Shasta counties. An evacuation warning calls for people to prepare to evacuate and await instructions, while an evacuation order means to leave immediately.
Temperatures are expected to be cooler than average through the middle of next week, but “that doesn’t mean that fires that are existing will go away,” said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
The Park Fire has scorched 547 square miles (1,416 square kilometers) as of Saturday and destroyed 134 structures since igniting Wednesday when authorities said a man pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico and then fled. It was 10% contained and moving to the north and east of Chico.
Ronnie Dean Stout, 42, was arrested Thursday at his home in Chico and was being held without bail pending a Monday arraignment, officials said. There was no reply to an email to the district attorney asking whether he had legal representation or someone who could comment on his behalf.
Billy See, an incident commander with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said at a briefing that the blaze had been advancing 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) per hour since its inception. But there was cautious optimism as weather conditions slowed it in some areas, and firefighters were able to plan and deploy additional personnel. Nearly 2,500 firefighters were battling the blaze, aided by 16 helicopters and numerous air tankers.
Jeremy Pierce, a Cal Fire operations section chief, said firefighters were taking advantage of the cooler weather: “We’re having great success today. Our crews are strong and going out there and getting this while the weather is in our favor.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the Park Fire and directed his team to do everything possible to support suppression efforts, according to the White House.
In Southern California, a blaze in the Sequoia National Forest swept through the community of Havilah after burning more than 48 square miles (124 square kilometers) in less than three days. The town of 250 people had been under an evacuation order.
Benjamin Cossel, a fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said firefighters and the sheriff’s office planned to go through the area to assess the damage and try to determine if any lives were lost.
“It’s still pretty hot in that area,” Cossel said.
Overall, more than 110 active fires covering 2,800 square miles (7,250 square kilometers) were burning in the U.S. as of Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Some were caused by the weather, with climate change increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the region endures record heat and bone-dry conditions.
Susan Singleton and her husband packed their SUV with clothes, some food and their seven dogs and rushed to evacuate their home Wednesday in Cohasset, a town of about 400 northeast of Chico. She said they have since learned that their house burned down.
“Everything else we had burned up but getting them out, getting us out, was my priority,” Singleton said Saturday, standing outside her SUV where her dogs were resting. The couple and their pets have been sleeping in their car outside the Red Cross shelter at the Neighborhood Church of Chico, which does not allow pets inside.
Singleton, 59, said her priority was finding a place for her pets to stretch out.
“We've got to have a place to land and stop doing this because this is what’s stressing me out,” she said pointing to her little dogs inside small carriers.
Elsewhere, crews were making progress on another complex of fires in the Plumas National Forest near the California-Nevada line, Forest Service spokesperson Adrienne Freeman said. Traffic was backed up for miles near the border along the main highway linking Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as crews continued to battle a fire that started Friday when a truck crashed.
The most damage so far has been to the Canadian Rockies’ Jasper National Park, where 25,000 people were forced to flee and the park’s namesake, a World Heritage site, was devastated, with 358 of the town's 1,113 structures destroyed. Authorities said cool and wet weather was helping, however.
In eastern Washington late Friday, crews stopped the progress of a fire near Tyler that destroyed three homes and five outbuildings, the Washington Department of Natural Resources said Saturday. The South Columbia Basin fire burned timber and grasses, and crews continued work on containment lines along the perimeter.
Two fires in eastern Oregon, the Durkee and Cow Valley blazes, burned about 660 square miles (1,709 square kilometers). Gov. Tina Kotek expressed condolences Friday to the family of a pilot of a single-engine air tanker that went down in forested terrain while fighting a separate fire near the town of Seneca and the Malheur National Forest.
In Idaho, homes, outbuildings and a commercial building were among structures lost in several communities including Juliaetta, which was evacuated Thursday. Officials said Saturday that they were continuing to assess the damage from a grouping of blazes referred to as the Gwen fire, which was estimated at 41 square miles (106 square kilometers) in size with no containment.
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer, John Antczak, Rio Yamat, David Sharp, Holly Ramer, Sarah Brumfield, Claire Rush, Terry Chea, Scott Sonner, Martha Bellisle and Amy Hanson contributed.
Firefighter Michael Benson, center, rubs his face during a briefing while battling the Park Fire in Tehama County, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter rests during a break from battling the Park Fire in Tehama County, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter sprays water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Volunteer firefighter Craig Klieb sprays water around his house as the Park Fire burns nearby in Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. Until a few years ago, (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Flames leap above fire vehicles as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A resident turns around while trying to evacuate as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Firefighters watch from their buggy as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the overview of the Park Fire in Chico, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Flames burn as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter sprays water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Smoke from the Park Fire casts an orange glow above a hillside burned in a previous wildfire in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Volunteer firefighter Craig Klieb sprays water around his house as the Park Fire burns nearby in Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
A helicopter drops water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Rail posts burn along Highway 36 as the Park Fire spreads near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Andrea Douglas holds her head while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames consume a vehicle as the Park Fire jburns in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames consume structures as the Park Fire burns in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Smoke rises above the roadway as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Grant Douglas pauses while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A dog being safeguarded by fire support personnel sits beside Cohasset Rd. as the Park Fire burns in the Cohasset community in Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Cal Fire firefighter Christian Moorhouse, center, monitors the flames while defends a mobile home during the Park Fire in the community of Cohasset near Chico, Calif., Thursday, July 25, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Seen from Chico, Calif., an air tanker passes a plume from the Park Fire burning in Butte County on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Animals evacuate as the Park Fire burns through the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Firefighter Christian Moorhouse battles the Park Fire tears through the Cohasset community in Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. His crew was able to keep flames from reaching the mobile home they were protecting. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
People evacuate their horse as the the River Fire moves through wheat fields Thursday, July 25, 2024, as seen from near Culdesac, Idaho. Lightning strikes have sparked fast-moving wildfires in Idaho, prompting the evacuation of multiple communities. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
The remains of a hotel is seen in Jasper, Alta., on Friday July 26, 2024. Wildfires encroaching into the townsite of Jasper forced an evacuation of the national park. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)
Damage is seen after a wildfire in Jasper, Alberta, Friday July 26, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)
Firefighter Christian Moorhouse jumps over a fence while battling the Park Fire in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. His crew was able to keep flames from reaching the mobile home they were protecting. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Seen in a long exposure photograph, the Park Fire burns along Highway 32 in the Forest Ranch community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A vehicle drives past the spreading River Fire Thursday, July 25, 2024, near Myrtle, Idaho, before U.S. Highway 12 was closed. Lightning strikes have sparked fast-moving wildfires in Idaho, prompting the evacuation of multiple communities. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
Embers spark a spot fire as the Park Fire burns below Highway 32 near Lomo in Butte County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
A firefighter pauses while trying to keep the Park Fire from jumping Highway 32 near Forest Ranch in Butte County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Grant Douglas pauses to drink water while evacuating as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Flames leap above fire vehicles as the Park Fire jumps Highway 36 near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
