Crews battle wildfires across the US West and fight to hold containment lines

FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames, including the largest wildfire in California this year.

The so-called Park Fire had scorched an area greater than the size of Los Angeles as of Sunday, darkening the sky with smoke and contributing poor air quality to a large swath of the northwestern U.S. and western Canada. The blaze spanned more than 562 square miles (1,455 square kilometers) of inland Northern California.

Firefighters were helped by cooler temperatures and more humidity on Saturday and made some progress, increasing containment from zero to 12%. The fire has drawn comparisons to the 2018 Camp Fire that tore through the nearby community of Paradise, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.

Paradise and several other Butte County communities were under an evacuation warning Sunday. However, Cal Fire operations section chief Jeremy Pierce had some good news for the area, saying around midday that the Park Fire's southernmost front, which is closest to Paradise, was “looking really good,” with crews focusing on extinguishing any remaining hot spots and removing other hazards over the next three days. He also said they don't expect it to move farther into Chico, a city of about 100,000 people just west of Paradise.

First responders initially focused on saving lives and property endangered by the Park Fire, but that has since shifted to confronting the blaze head-on, Jay Tracy, a spokesperson at the Park Fire headquarters, told The Associated Press by phone Sunday.

Nearly 4,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, aided by numerous helicopters and air tankers, and Tracy said reinforcements would give much-needed rest to local firefighters, some of whom have been working nonstop since the fire started Wednesday.

“This fire is surprising a lot of people with its explosive growth,” he said. “It is kind of unparalleled.”

In places where the flames had died down by Sunday, signs of the devastation were clear. Mailboxes and vehicles were covered with pink fire retardant dropped by aircraft in Cohasset. At other locations in the community the husks of a washer and dryer set were surrounded by burned debris from a home, and a charred motorcycle was still propped upright, balancing on rims after its tires apparently melted away.

Another part of the town was relatively unscathed, the Butte County Fire Chief said.

“We have an unburned island in that community that we are continuing to patrol and ensure that there are no hot spots in it,” Sjolund said.

Managing evacuation orders can be complex. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said authorities were about to downgrade the evacuation order to a warning for Forest Ranch when they learned a number of hot spots were reported nearby.

“That illustrates how rapidly things can change — we were all set to be able to reduce that order to get people back in there,” Honea said.

In Southern California, roughly 2,000 people had been ordered to evacuate because of a fire sweeping through the Sequoia National Forest. The wind-driven fire was moving fast, Kern County Fire Department public information officer Andrew Freeborn said, eating up more than 60 square miles (155.4 square kilometers) in four days.

The National Weather Service said a “red flag” warning was in effect for the region on Sunday, meaning dry fuels and stronger winds were increasing the fire danger.

The fire was exhibiting extreme fire conditions, fed by lots of dead plants that dried up after several years of rainfall, Freeborn said. The historic mining town of Havilah and several other communities have been “heavily impacted” by the fires, he said, but it was still too soon for damage assessment crews to count the number of burned homes.

So far, no fatalities have been reported in the Park and Borel fires. Some people in the region were choosing to ignore or disregard evacuation orders, increasing the danger for everyone, Freeborn said.

“When people are trying to ignore the orders and later call for rescue, that takes firefighters away from the task of fighting the fires," he said. "This fire is moving at a pace and with such intensity that individuals should not be thinking they can wait until the last minute. They need to get out of the way.”

Although the area expects cooler-than-average temperatures through the middle of this week, that doesn't mean "that fires that are existing will go away,” said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

The Park Fire has destroyed at least 66 structures and damaged five others, Tracy said. Authorities initially believed 134 structures had been lost, based on drone footage, but they lowered the number after teams assessed the damage in-person.

“Unfortunately, that number will probably go up," Tracy said. "Each day that number has potential to grow — our teams obviously don’t do damage inspections when there is active fire in an area.”

Jerry White, 72, left his Magalia home when authorities issues an evacuation warning, a step below an evacuation order. Years earlier White sustained third-degree burns when a barbecue caused his coat to catch fire and he said the thought of that pain made him take the warning seriously.

“I don't want to catch fire again. It's one of the worst pains you can endure," White said. “I wanted to get out of dodge. Burns are bad.”

White's home is safe from the flames so far and he plans to keep living in the fire-prone mountain community, he said.

“I've been up here 50 years," White said. "The beach is more dangerous than here ... it was packed by sharks before, back when I used to surf. I'll take a fire over a shark any day!"

The Park Fire started Wednesday, when authorities say a man pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico and then fled. A man accused of setting the fire was arrested Thursday and is due in court Monday.

The Park Fire was one of more than 100 blazes burning in the U.S. on Sunday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Some were sparked by the weather, with climate change increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the western U.S. endures blistering heat and bone-dry conditions.

Despite the improved fire weather in Northern California, conditions remained ripe for even more blazes to ignite, with the National Weather Service warning of “red flag” conditions on Sunday across wide swaths of Idaho, Montana, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, in addition to parts of California.

Fires were also burning across eastern Oregon and eastern Idaho, where officials were assessing damage from a group of blazes referred to as the Gwen Fire, which was estimated at 43 square miles (111 square kilometers) as of Sunday.

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho. AP reporters around the U.S. who contributed include Eugene Garcia, David Sharp, Becky Bohrer, John Antczak, Rio Yamat, David Sharp, Holly Ramer, Sarah Brumfield, Claire Rush, Terry Chea, Scott Sonner, Martha Bellisle and Amy Hanson.

A plan drops fire retardant on the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Fire crews monitor a backburn, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in the Butte Meadows area in Butte County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A firefighter monitors a burn operation on Highway 32 to combat the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Fire crews battle the Park Fire along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A Beckwourth Hot Shot monitors a burn operation along Highway 32 to help fight the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Fire crews walk through the smoke along Highway 32 as they battle the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A firefighter monitors the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

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 consume a vehicle as the Park Fire jburns in Tehama County, Calif., on Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters with the United States Forest Service Lassen National Forest prepare a hoselay on a hillside during the Park fire near Paynes Creek in Tehama County, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Firefighter Ismael Pugh chugs water during a briefing while battling the Park Fire in Tehama County, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 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 property damaged by wildfire is seen in the aftermath of the Park Fire, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A property damaged by wildfire is seen in the aftermath of the Park Fire, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A charred motorcycle is seen in aftermath of the Park Fire, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A vehicle is doused with retardant in the aftermath of the Park Fire, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A vehicle and mailboxes are doused with retardant in the aftermath of the Park Fire, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

The Park Fire burns along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Fire crews battle the Park Fire as it burns along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A dozer cuts fire breaks to help control the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A plane drops fire retardant on the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

The Park Fire burns along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

The Park Fire burns along Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

CalFire firefighter David Metters lights a burn operation to mitigate the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

CTwo U.S. Forest Service firefighters confer on the Park Fire as smoke fills the air near Paynes Creek (Tehama County) on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

The sun sets over the remains of a house that was destroyed in the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A lawn ornament stands in front of a burned car that was destroyed in the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Joseph Phillips stands where the front door of his home once stood before the Gwen Fire tore through the area and destroyed the home, Saturday, July 27, 2024, off of Gifford Reubens Road, Idaho. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP)

A charred vehicle rests below a hill in Paynes Creek after the Park Fire burned through the community in Tehama County, Calif., on Saturday, July 27, 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)

Firefighters monitor the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

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)

A helicopter drops water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

A firefighter sprays water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

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)

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)

Firefighters carry hose near a home to fight the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

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)

A column of smoke from the Park Fire rises over Highway 32 near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

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)

A firefighter sprays water on the Park Fire burning near Forest Ranch, Calif., Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

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)

Thousands battle Western wildfires as smoke puts millions under air quality alerts

Thousands battle Western wildfires as smoke puts millions under air quality alerts

Damage is seen after a wildfire in Jasper, Alberta, Friday July 26, 2024. (Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press via AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile after being granted asylum in Spain, delivering a major blow to millions who placed their hopes in his upstart campaign to end two decades of single-party rule.

The surprise departure of the man considered by Venezuela’s opposition and several foreign governments to be the legitimate winner of July’s presidential race was announced late Saturday night by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.

She said the government decided to grant González safe passage out of the country, just days after ordering his arrest, to help restore “the country’s political peace and tranquility.”

Neither González nor opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has commented.

Meanwhile, Spain’s center-left government said the decision to abandon Venezuela was González's alone and he departed on a plane sent by the country's air force.

Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told Spanish national broadcaster RTVE that his government will grant González political asylum as he has requested. Albares spoke while en route to China with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on a state visit.

“I have been able to speak to (González) and once he was aboard the airplane he expressed his gratitude toward the Spanish government and Spain,” Albares said. “Of course I told him we were pleased that he is well and on his way to Spain, and I reiterated the commitment of our government to the political rights of all Venezuelans.”

Sánchez said in a speech Friday, before González's departure was announced, that the opposition leader was “a hero whom Spain is not going to abandon.”

Albares said that González had spent an unspecified number of days at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas before his departure.

A Spanish official with knowledge of details on González’s departure said that his government did not discuss González’s exit with Maduro’s administration. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with ministry protocols.

González, a 75-year-old former diplomat, was a last minute stand in when Machado was banned from running. Previously unknown to most Venezuelans, his campaign nonetheless rapidly ignited the hopes of millions of Venezuelans desperate for change after a decade-long economic freefall.

While President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of the July vote, most Western governments have yet to recognize his victory and are instead demanding that authorities publish a breakdown of votes. Meanwhile, tally sheets collected by opposition volunteers from over two-thirds of the electronic voting machines indicate that González won by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

The tally sheets have long been considered the ultimate proof of election results in Venezuela. In previous presidential elections, the National Electoral Council published online the results of each of the more than 30,000 voting machines but the Maduro-controlled panel did not release any data this time, blaming an alleged cyberattack mounted by its opponents from North Macedonia.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab, a staunch Maduro ally, sought González's arrest after he failed to appear three times in connection with a criminal investigation into what it considers an act of electoral sabotage.

Saab told reporters the voting records the opposition shared online were forged and an attempt to undermine the National Electoral Council.

Experts from the United Nations and the Carter Center, which at the invitation of Maduro’s government observed the election, determined the results announced by electoral authorities lacked credibility. In a statement critical of the election, the U.N. experts stopped short of validating the opposition’s claim to victory, but they said the voting records it published online appear to exhibit all of the original security features.

Spain has been a major point of exodus for Venezuelans, particularly of those leading opposition to Maduro’s regime. They include Leopoldo López, who fled to Spain to reunite with his family in 2020, and Antonio Ledezma, who left for the European country in 2017.

Some 44,000 Venezuelans immigrated to Spain in the first six months of this year. The last government statistics from 2022 said that some 212,000 Venezuelans were then residing in Spain.

——

Goodman reported from Miami and Wilson from Barcelona, Spain.

FILE - Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez waves to supporters during a political event at a square in the Hatillo municipality of Caracas, Venezuela, June 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)