A man is accused of pushing a burning car into a gully, causing a California wildfire that’s spread to over 145,000 acres

By CNN

Published July 25, 2024 9:52 PM

CNN

By Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — Hot and dry weather is fueling wildfire activity in the Western United States and Canada, with fires damaging homes, causing injuries and forcing evacuations. The largest active wildfire in the US has scorched more than 280,000 acres in eastern Oregon and another blaze has exploded to over 145,000 acres in California. Here’s the latest:

• Man accused of starting California wildfire is arrested: A suspect has been arrested on suspicion of pushing a burning car 60 feet into a gully, “spreading flames” that caused what’s now become California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said. The Park Fire in the Butte County area has quickly burned an area larger than the size of Atlanta and is only 3% contained, according to Cal Fire.

• Park Fire explodes in size: By Thursday morning, the wildfire had burned an average of nearly 50 football fields per minute since starting Wednesday afternoon. The blaze has forced mandatory evacuations in Butte County, where the state’s deadliest wildfire, the Camp Fire, killed more than 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes in 2018. Conditions around the Park Fire continue to be difficult for the 1,153 firefighters battling the flames as dry air, warm temperatures and gusty winds linger over the area Thursday. The area is under a red flag warning until Friday evening.

• Three firefighters injured and structures damaged: Three firefighters had minor heat-related injuries on Wednesday while fighting the Park Fire, Cal Fire Captain Dan Collins told CNN Thursday. They were treated and released, he said. Officials know structures have been damaged or destroyed by the fire, but there is no official count yet, Collins said.

• Firefighters battle massive Oregon fire: The Durkee Fire, which has burned an area larger than the city of Indianapolis, started on July 17 near the Oregon-Idaho state line. The lightning-sparked fire is the largest of 34 large wildfires currently burning across Oregon, which has been the hardest hit by fires in recent days. Amid high temperatures, extremely dry vegetation and strong winds, the fire has grown tens of thousands of acres and is 20% contained as of Thursday night, according to InciWeb. More than 500 firefighters and resources from 22 states are working to fight the fire, according to InciWeb. Over the weekend and earlier this week, the Durkee Fire exhibited extreme fire behavior, even creating its own weather in the form of pyrocumulus clouds.

• Oregon wildfire destroys buildings: Three people were injured and two homes and 12 other structures were destroyed as the fire spread, according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. Evacuations are still in effect in Baker County for areas around the Durkee Fire. Some communities do not have power, according to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who has deployed resources from the National Guard to assist. Dense smoke from the flames has also impeded traffic on Interstate 84, leading to periodic closure of the freeway. Wildfire smoke was spreading into Boise and beyond. Air quality alerts have been issued for parts of Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

• Wildfire engulfs tourist town in Canada: A fast-moving wildfire sent thousands of visitors and residents fleeing the town of Jasper in Alberta, where flames devastated up to half of the town’s structures. Officials say the losses are significant, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has deployed federal support to help battle the blaze. Cool temperatures and rain are expected to keep fire behavior low for the next 72 hours, which will help crews fight the blaze, Jasper National Park said on Facebook Thursday night.

• Fire-conducive weather continues in Western US: Triple-digit heat and dry conditions across the West this week have made conditions poor for firefighters actively fighting to contain the 89 large wildfires burning nationwide. “Many wildfires in the Northwest area continue to exhibit active to extreme fire behavior, with evacuation orders in effect on 17 wildfires. Several teams are managing multiple fire starts as complexes. Evacuation orders are also in effect for several fires in California, the Northern Rockies and the Great Basin,” the National Interagency Fire Center said. Conditions will begin to improve for much of the West over the weekend as cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels arrive in the area.

California resident says watching home burn was ‘surreal’

Some families have found themselves displaced as the Park Fire raged near Chico, a city in northern California, burning homes and forcing evacuations.

A former news anchor told CNN affiliate KOVR that she watched her Butte County house burn down live through security camera footage.

“There is no rhyme or reason. Our house is gone, their house is okay. The house next to it you can see it’s gone,” Julia Yarbough said.

Looking at the remnants of her home, Yarbough said she felt numb.

“It’s surreal,” she said. “It probably won’t hit me till later, I’m pretty sure.”

Triple-digit temperatures and high wind gusts have fueled the explosive growth of the Park Fire amid an active fire season in California. An estimated 343,253 acres have burned across the state so far in 2024, compared to 22,439 acres burned by this time last year, according to Cal Fire.

A 42-year-old man, identified as Ronnie Dean Stout II, has been arrested after being accused of igniting the inferno.

Witnesses reported seeing someone “pushing a car that was on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3:00 p.m. yesterday,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Thursday. “The car went down an embankment approximately 60 feet and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire.”

The DA says the man was seen “calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.” Stout was later arrested at a mobile home park in Chico, Ramsey said.

Stout will likely face an arson charge, though it is unclear what count, or whether any enhancements will be added, Ramsey said. The DA’s office told CNN Stout has not retained an attorney and will be assigned a public defender at his arraignment.

‘Wall of flames’ destroys homes and businesses in Canadian tourist town

In Jasper, a popular tourist town in Alberta, 25,000 residents and visitors were forced to evacuate from a fast-moving blaze that has damaged 30 to 50% of the town’s structures, officials said during a press conference on Thursday.

“Homes and businesses have been lost to a wildfire that people are calling a ‘wall of flames,’” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said.

An “enormous wind gust” moved the wildfire roughly about 3 miles in “probably less than 30 minutes,” Alberta Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Services Mike Ellis said during the press conference. This created “a wall of fire that was about 100 meters high.”

“Any firefighter will tell you there is little to nothing you can do when you have a wall of flames coming at you like that. Nobody anticipated that fire to come so fast, so large,” Ellis said.

Two wildfires converged in the Jasper National Park area, becoming what authorities are referring to as the Jasper Wildfire Complex. It remains difficult to measure exactly how big the complex – which also includes a third nearby fire – is due to extreme fire behavior and thick smoke cover. Together, the fires have swallowed an estimated 89,000 acres, the Jasper National Park said.

Damage wrought by the flames will result in “a significant rebuild and significant displacement,” Smith said. The most significant structural damage lies on the west side of town, according to a Facebook post from Jasper National Park.

“We will recover from this,” Smith said while holding back tears. “To those in Alberta and around the world who have experienced the magic of Jasper, the magic is not lost, and it never will be.”

The vast majority of evacuees were “visitors with other places to return to,” Ellis said. Along with about 5,000 residents who live in the town, 2.48 million people visited Jasper National Park last year.

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said residents will work together to rebuild after the wildfire “ravaged our beloved community.”

“Your resilience and strength have always been the backbone of our community. In the coming days and weeks, we will rally together, support one another, and begin the daunting process of recovery,” Ireland said in a statement on Thursday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said all federal agencies are working together to provide resources to Jasper, support evacuations and strengthen response efforts on the ground.

“Our governments are working together to keep Albertans safe and supported through this,” he said on Facebook.

CNN’s Robert Shackelford, Jillian Sykes, Lauren Mascarenhas, Paradise Afshar, Taylor Romine and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.

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