Thousands of firefighters battle to control California wildfire

A fire raging out of control in northern California has rapidly become among the biggest ever in the western US state, authorities said on Saturday.

The Park Fire burned more than 350,000 acres (142,000 hectares) as of Saturday evening, making it the seventh-largest in the state’s history, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

The fire, which prompted orders for more than 4,000 people to flee their homes, was burning through a largely rural, mountainous area near Chico city, about 90 miles (145km) north of the state capital, Sacramento.

The fire was just 10 percent controlled despite the efforts of more than 3,700 personnel with more than a dozen helicopters and several planes, according to an agency update.

Jeremy Pierce, a Cal Fire operations section chief, said on Saturday that firefighters were taking advantage of the cooler weather while it lasts: “We’re having great success today.”

The Park Fire started on Wednesday near Chico, in Butte County, and within hours, had devastated a wide area there and in neighbouring Tehama County.

Cal Fire’s latest update said 20 structures were confirmed destroyed by the fire, lowering an earlier estimate of 134.

The agency said the numbers were expected to fluctuate as officials assess the damage on the ground.

The blaze has generated an enormous column of dense gray smoke which has also been blown over nearby states.

On Thursday, police detained a 42-year-old man on suspicion of having started the fire by pushing a burning car into a ravine.

Evacuation orders and warnings were issued for multiple communities in several counties, including a warning for Paradise, the town that was devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in the state’s history, killing at least 85 people.

Experts say climate change, accelerated by human action, is leading to more extreme weather events.