In the small forest community of Cohasset, Ron Ward watched as flames hundreds of feet high from California’s deadly Park Fire approached his family ranch.
He had lost insurance coverage on it just a month earlier as companies increasingly drop California homeowners due to the growing risk of wildfires in the state, in part due to hotter weather and arid conditions caused by climate change. So he and his son Ethan went to work installing a fire protection system involving a water line to a pond and sprinklers. The system’s pump was delivered right when the fire started.
The flames reached within 70 feet (21. meters) of his house. Then they stopped.
“It hit our sprinklers and kind of died down and then went around our property and missed, missed all of our structures,” Ward said. His 100-year-old ranch was saved.
The Park Fire had scorched more than 383,000 acres, an area greater than the city of Los Angeles, as of Tuesday morning, making it the fifth largest recorded in state history, according to Cal Fire. It had destroyed more than 100 structures and was threatening 4,200 more.
Firefighters reached 12% of containment after being aided by cooler temperatures and more humidity over the weekend and it was up to 14% by Tuesday morning.
Cohasset exhibited charred remnants of the devastation Sunday, a scene that Ward described as a “moonscape.” Mailboxes and vehicles were covered with pink fire retardant dropped by aircraft. The husks of a washer and dryer set were surrounded by burned debris and a blackened motorcycle was propped upright, balancing on rims after its tires apparently melted away.
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Firefighters made progress and were helped by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames.
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Ward, who stayed behind with a few friends, had to be the one to call his bookkeeper and neighbors to tell them their homes were gone.
“They haven’t even been able to get back to look at their homes,” he said, tearing up as he recounted last week's experience to The Associated Press in an interview Monday.
The Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California this year and the fifth largest in the state’s recorded history, was one of more than 100 large active wildfires burning in the U.S. on Monday. The man arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully made his first appearance in court Monday and was charged with felony arson of an inhabited structure or property.
Ronnie Dean Stout was arrested at his home in Chico a day after the fire started. Prosecutors said Stout has a previous criminal record and would face life in prison if convicted.
There was no reply to an email to the district attorney asking whether Stout had legal representation or someone who could comment on his behalf. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey told reporters after the hearing that Stout says the incident was an accident, The Sacramento Bee reported.
Find evacuation zones, evacuation centers and the latest information on the Cal Fire website.
