A Northern California wildfire continued to roar through forest land and small communities across two counties, destroying dozens of structures and forcing thousands to flee as hundreds of firefighters tried to contain the flames.
The Park Fire in Butte and Tehama counties grew to more than 307,369 acres by Friday night, with no containment, and had destroyed 134 structures, according to Cal Fire.
The fire forced widespread evacuation orders and warnings and destroyed multiple homes in areas north of Chico, Cal Fire said.
More than 4,000 structures were threatened by the blaze as of Friday afternoon, the agency said.
The wildfire sparked just before 3 p.m. Wednesday off Upper Park Road in Upper Bidwell Park, east of Chico, Cal Fire said.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey on Thursday said 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II of Chico was arrested after he was seen pushing a car that was on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday. The car went down an embankment and the flames spread.
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Stout has two previous felony convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 in Butte County in 2001 and for robbery with great bodily injury in Kern County in 2002, the DA said. After the Kern County conviction he was sentenced to a 20-year state prison term.
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There were no known injuries as a result of the fire as of Friday.
For more information about the fire, evacuation zones and evacuation centers, visit the Cal Fire website.
