California's Park Fire grows to 385K acres as temperatures are forecast to climb
The Park Fire fire in Northern California continues to grow. By Tuesday afternoon, the fire had burned more than 385,000 acres, according to fire officials.
Crews have made progress containing and mopping up the western perimeter of the fire, but fire activity is still significant in the northwest, where difficult terrain and heavy smoke have sometimes made it too dangerous to send ground crews or aircraft to battle the flames.
The fire is burning across four different counties: Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama — forcing evacuation orders for more than 4,000 people.
Close to 5,600 firefighters are working to get the fire under control. It has already destroyed more than 190 structures and is only 14% contained.
Nic Coury/AP
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"Crews continue to engage offensively in parts of the fire when it is possible to build direct lines, reinforce lines, and to begin mop-up where applicable," CalFire said in an update Tuesday morning.
In addition to fire concerns, air quality is also a major issue. Much of the northwestern U.S. is facing moderate to unhealthy air quality.
The Park Fire started on July 24 as a result of arson, according to authorities. Ronnie Dean Stout II was arrested after law enforcement got a report of a man pushing a car that was on fire into a gully near Upper Bidwell Park in Chico.
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