Drought conditions and climate change have created a volatile environment which has made wildfires more destructive and harder to control.
ADVERTISEMENTCalifornia’s biggest wildfire so far this year has killed at least two people and forced thousands to have to evacuate their homes.
Vast areas of land have burned with the flames rapidly spreading. The wildfire has tripled in size since it started according to California’s fire service, exploding overnight from 567 hectares on Wednesday to more than 60,000 hectares on Friday morning.
Known as the Park Fire, it is believed to have been started by a man accused of pushing a burning car into a ditch. It slid down into the gully and then burst entirely into flames which is thought to have started the blaze.
The man calmly left the area, in one of the nation's largest urban parks, by blending in with other people and fleeing the “rapidly evolving fire,” officials said.
The 42-year-old man from Chico was arrested early Thursday and is being held without bail until an arraignment hearing Monday, officials said. The investigation into the wildfire and its causes is still ongoing.
As of Friday morning, just 3 per cent of the fire had been contained though Cal Fire says more than 1,153 personnel are fighting the blaze using helicopters and bulldozers. They describe the conditions as challenging as the fire is well established with firefighters focusing on evacuating homes and defending structures.
More than 4,000 people have been evacuated in Butte County and the city of Chico.
Concerns have been raised about how rapidly the Park Fire grew and the increasing severity and frequency of California’s wildfires. Drought conditions and climate change have created a volatile environment which has made them more destructive and harder to control.
Wildfires are burning across North America
It isn’t the biggest fire currently burning in the US. Oregon’s Durkee Fire has destroyed more than 100,000 hectares of land, burning up ranches and killing hundreds of cattle, according to local media reports.
Winds with gusts of up to 97kph paired with lightning strikes may be helping to fan the flames.
In Canada, a huge wildfire ravaged the ski tourism town of Jasper with 30 to 50 per cent of buildings thought to have been destroyed. It started during a lightning storm and was fuelled by powerful winds in an area that has experienced drought.
Smoke from these fires and others along the west coast of North America has caused unhealthy air quality in some cities like Denver in the state of Colorado.
