OAN Staff Abril Elfi
1:18 PM – Saturday, July 27, 2024
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for the areas affected by two strong wildfires.
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The state of emergency will cover Butte and Tehama counties—home to the massive Park Fire—and Plumas County, where the smaller Gold Complex Fire is located.
Newsom’s (D-Calif.) office said that the proclamations ease access to unemployment benefits and waive fees to replace lost driver’s licenses and other records, among other benefits for fire victims.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, the Park Fire began at a park in Chico on Wednesday, and quickly spread into wildlands to the north, growing to over 307,000 acres with no containment as of Saturday morning.
Based on acreage, the Park Fire is now officially the eighth largest wildfire in California history, according to Cal Fire statistics.
As of Saturday morning, it is the biggest active fire in the state.
The agency’s website shows that the Gold Complex Fire, which began on Monday, had burned 3,007 acres and was 11% contained by Saturday.
“The fires were forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, destroying homes and threatening critical infrastructure,” the governor’s office said.
Reports stated that recent and ongoing wildfires in the state have burned almost half a million acres. The National Interagency Fire Center reports that six large uncontained fires in California have threatened homes, infrastructure, or both.
Cal Fire reports that 134 structures have been destroyed by the Park Fire’s flames thus far. The National Interagency Fire Center reported that road closures and evacuations were in place due to both the Gold Complex Fire.
The Park Fire has been the largest wildfire in California so far this year.
“In several hours, the #ParkFire exploded from a 400-acre fire to a more than 71,000-acre inferno, consuming everything in its path,” Cal Fire said on social media platform X on Thursday.
Authorities allege the Park Fire was started when a man pushed a car that was on fire into a gully on Wednesday.
“The car went down an embankment approximately 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement. “The male was then seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.”
Ramsey stated Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was taken into custody on Thursday in connection to the fire.
According to Butte County Jail records, he was taken into custody without being granted bail after being charged with felony arson.
The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that almost one million people in the Western United States were under fire weather watches and warnings on Friday night. The Park Fire area was also under a red flag warning, which lasted until 11 p.m.
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