As reported by AP News, California authorities announced the arrest of a suspect in connection with the Park Fire, which has become the state’s largest wildfire of the year.
The fire began when a burning car was pushed into a gully and has since spread over 195 square miles near Chico.
Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the fire only 3% contained as of Thursday evening.
The identity of the arrested suspect has not been released by the authorities.
Further complicating the situation in California, about 1,000 people remained displaced due to the Gold Complex fires near the Nevada border.
These fires, sparked by lightning, have burned over 4 square miles of brush and timber in the Plumas National Forest.
Forest Service spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman reported continued efforts to control the fires.
Efforts to contain the Park Fire have been challenged by extreme weather conditions.
Forest Service operations section chief Tom Browning said Thursday: “We’ve made some really good progress on the fires.
“But it’s hot, it’s dry and it’s very windy… With the wind and the heat, we don’t have great containment on all these lines.”
Tim Fike, incident commander at the Gold Complex, noted that gusty winds were creating additional challenges, causing new spot fires up to a mile beyond the main fire lines.
This has significantly hampered the containment efforts.
As evacuations and firefighting efforts continue in California, Oregon has also faced its share of challenges.
Residents in some areas were allowed to return home after a thunderstorm brought rain and lightning, affecting ongoing fire containment efforts in the state.
The Pacific Northwest is dealing with multiple fires. In Oregon, the Durkee Fire has burned nearly 630 square miles.
President Joe Biden offered support to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek to help manage the fires.
Firefighters are working to capitalize on improved weather conditions to control the blaze on the Oregon-Idaho border, but the fire remains unpredictable and is only 20% contained.
In Idaho, 15 new fires were started by lightning overnight, but several were extinguished by Thursday afternoon.
The National Weather Service in Boise detected over 2,800 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in the region on Wednesday.
Montana has also been affected, with more than two dozen new fires igniting recently.
Additionally, in Canada, the town in Jasper National Park faced significant damage from a fast-moving wildfire, leading to evacuations and air quality alerts due to smoke.
Idaho Power implemented pre-emptive power outages for the first time to prevent new fire starts and other grid issues from high winds.
In northern California, efforts are focused on evacuations and defending structures using bulldozers to build containment lines ahead of the Park Fire.
Meanwhile, in southern California, the Grove Fire in San Diego County prompted evacuation orders as it threatened homes.
This fire grew to 1.4 square miles overnight and was 10% contained by Thursday afternoon.
Montana issued a fire warning due to high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds, with the potential for temperatures to reach up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit.
Missoula authorities warned residents to stay out of rivers to avoid potential electrical hazards from downed power lines.
