Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Firefighters Are Taming the Park Fire, CA's 4th-Largest Wildfire on Record
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
August 19, 2024

California's largest wildfire this year, the Park Fire, is now 53% contained as the state experiences a temporary lull in fire activity. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

CHICO — California’s largest wildfire this year has been significantly tamed as the state’s initially fierce fire season has, at least temporarily, fallen into a relative calm.

The Park Fire was 53% contained Monday after scorching nearly 671 square miles (1,738 square kilometers) in several northern counties, destroying 637 structures and damaging 49 as it became the state’s fourth-largest wildfire on record.

A large portion of the fire area has been in mop-up stages, which involves extinguishing smoldering material along containment lines, and residents of evacuated areas are returning home. Timber in its northeast corner continues to burn.

The fire is burning islands of vegetation within containment lines, the Cal Fire situation summary said.

Arson Suspected in Park Fire’s Origin

The Park Fire was allegedly started by arson on July 24 in a wilderness park outside the Central Valley city of Chico. It spread northward with astonishing speed in withering conditions as it climbed the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.

July was marked by extraordinary heat in most of California, where back-to-back wet winters left the state flush with grasses and vegetation that dried and became ready to burn. Wildfires erupted up and down the state.

The first half of August has been warmer than average but not record-breaking, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“We’re still seeing pretty regular ignitions and we’re still seeing significant fire activity, but the pace has slowed and the degree of that activity, the intensity, rates of initial spread, are not as high as they were,” he said in an online briefing Friday.

“Nonetheless, vegetation remains drier than average in most places in California and will likely remain so nearly everywhere in California for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Potential Resurgence in Wildfire Activity

There are signs of a return of high heat in parts of the West by late August and early September, Swain said.

“I would expect to see another resurgence in wildfire activity then across a broad swath of the West, including California,” he said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Chargers Defense Ready for Challenge of Facing High-Powered Bengals Offense

DON'T MISS

Bills QB Allen Dismisses Comparisons to Mahomes, 0-3 in Playoffs Against Chiefs Star

DON'T MISS

New FDA Rules for TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language and No Distractions

DON'T MISS

LeBron James Has Third Straight Triple-Double as Lakers Rally for Victory Over Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Falls to UC Santa Barbara as Turner Scores 24

DON'T MISS

Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza Strip

DON'T MISS

Legislative Analyst Reports on Highs and Lows of UC Merced’s First 20 Years

DON'T MISS

Climate Change Could Bring Disaster or Solutions to San Joaquin Valley

DON'T MISS

Fresno Symposium to Focus on Water’s Impact on Farmland Values

DON'T MISS

Why Trump’s Deportations Will Drive Up Your Grocery Bill

UP NEXT

Bills QB Allen Dismisses Comparisons to Mahomes, 0-3 in Playoffs Against Chiefs Star

UP NEXT

New FDA Rules for TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language and No Distractions

UP NEXT

LeBron James Has Third Straight Triple-Double as Lakers Rally for Victory Over Grizzlies

UP NEXT

Fresno State Falls to UC Santa Barbara as Turner Scores 24

UP NEXT

Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza Strip

UP NEXT

Legislative Analyst Reports on Highs and Lows of UC Merced’s First 20 Years

UP NEXT

Climate Change Could Bring Disaster or Solutions to San Joaquin Valley

UP NEXT

Fresno Symposium to Focus on Water’s Impact on Farmland Values

UP NEXT

Why Trump’s Deportations Will Drive Up Your Grocery Bill

UP NEXT

Republicans Win 218 US House Seats, Giving Donald Trump and the Party Control of Government

LeBron James Has Third Straight Triple-Double as Lakers Rally for Victory Over Grizzlies

50 minutes ago

Fresno State Falls to UC Santa Barbara as Turner Scores 24

50 minutes ago

Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza Strip

1 hour ago

Legislative Analyst Reports on Highs and Lows of UC Merced’s First 20 Years

1 hour ago

Climate Change Could Bring Disaster or Solutions to San Joaquin Valley

1 hour ago

Fresno Symposium to Focus on Water’s Impact on Farmland Values

5 hours ago

Why Trump’s Deportations Will Drive Up Your Grocery Bill

5 hours ago

Republicans Win 218 US House Seats, Giving Donald Trump and the Party Control of Government

14 hours ago

Fresno State Alum Is New Dean of Health and Human Services College

18 hours ago

Who Is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Congressman Donald Trump Picked to Serve as AG?

18 hours ago

Chargers Defense Ready for Challenge of Facing High-Powered Bengals Offense

EL SEGUNDO — Bud Dupree knows the challenge awaiting the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. With ...

6 minutes ago

6 minutes ago

Chargers Defense Ready for Challenge of Facing High-Powered Bengals Offense

7 minutes ago

Bills QB Allen Dismisses Comparisons to Mahomes, 0-3 in Playoffs Against Chiefs Star

33 minutes ago

New FDA Rules for TV Drug Ads: Simpler Language and No Distractions

50 minutes ago

LeBron James Has Third Straight Triple-Double as Lakers Rally for Victory Over Grizzlies

50 minutes ago

Fresno State Falls to UC Santa Barbara as Turner Scores 24

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Maghazi in the Gaza Strip, during their funeral at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
1 hour ago

Human Rights Watch Accuses Israel of War Crimes in Gaza Strip

1 hour ago

Legislative Analyst Reports on Highs and Lows of UC Merced’s First 20 Years

1 hour ago

Climate Change Could Bring Disaster or Solutions to San Joaquin Valley

Search

Send this to a friend