Arsonist at California forest fire: Major fire was accident

REDDING, Calif. – A Northern California man accused of arson in one of the largest fires in state history is denying allegations that he pushed a burning car down an embankment, sparking the blaze that led to the evacuation of more than 25,000 people in four counties.

Ronnie Dean Stout II, who was arraigned Monday on negligent arson and related charges, was being held pending the conclusion of his arraignment Thursday. The Park Fire near Chico has burned nearly 600 square miles in Tehama and Butte counties since it broke out last Wednesday, making it the sixth-largest fire in California history. It was only 14% contained as of early Monday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Calfire) said.

“This didn’t have to happen,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said at a briefing. He said Stout pulled over to the side of the road but slid off a shoulder into the grass. Ramsey said the fire started when Stout revved his car’s engine as he tried to pull out.

Witnesses said they saw Stout watch his car burn and then back it up. Ramsey said Stout claims he did not push the car down the embankment but fled the scene in a panic.

“The car plunged approximately 20 feet down an embankment and was completely engulfed in flames. The flames spread and caused the park fire,” Ramsey said in his statement. The suspect, he said, was “observed calmly leaving the area, mingling with other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly spreading fire.”

Developments:

∎ More than 5,000 firefighters battled the fire, which burned more than 320,000 acres in Tehama County and more than 53,000 acres in Butte County.

∎ The fire destroyed at least 165 homes, businesses and other buildings and damaged more than a dozen others.

∎ Some evacuations have also been ordered in Shasta and Plumas counties. Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said evacuation orders have been downgraded to warnings in some areas.

The extreme weather in Oregon has “tested our limits”

Nearly 10,000 firefighters are battling 43 large fires across Oregon, the state’s Forest Service reported. That does not include “many local and government employees, landowners, forest owners and community members who contribute every day,” the agency said in an update on the fight.

Oregon climate scientist Larry O’Neill says heat waves in the state are getting more severe and are making fires worse. Deputy Fire Chief Kyle Williams said the extreme weather has “tested our limits.” Governor Tina Kotek has declared a state of emergency and National Guard teams have been called in to help with the fires.

“The local wildfire situation is dynamic and challenging, and we need all hands on deck,” said Kotek.

Hundreds evacuated as Colorado fire spreads

The Alexander Mountain Fire in Colorado near Loveland had spread across nearly 1,000 acres by Tuesday morning, a day after it broke out. The U.S. Forest Service took control of firefighting efforts from Larimer County, but the fire remained out of control, according to InciWeb. Hundreds fled their homes after evacuation orders were issued in parts of Larimer County near the Wyoming border.

High temperatures and low humidity are likely to intensify the fire, InciWeb warned. “Significant” smoke is expected in the coming days. Justin Whitesell, emergency coordinator for the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, said deploying fire resources from other states is difficult because of wildfires elsewhere.

“We are doing our best with the resources we have,” he said, adding that firefighters were focused on evacuating people and protecting homes.

− Erin Udell and Holly Engelman, Fort Collins Coloradoan

Five years later, a couple loses their second home in flames

In California, Butte County resident Rick Pero told KHSL-TV that the Park Fire was the second wildfire in Butte County to destroy his home. Pero and his wife moved to Forest Ranch after losing their previous home to the Camp Fire, which killed more than 80 people in 2018. After that fire, Pero became involved in fire prevention and educated his neighbors on how to maintain a defensible perimeter around their homes.

“28 houses benefited from the defense zone and are still standing,” Pero said. But for his house and some others, “Mother Nature was just too much,” Pero said.

Warnings about fire extinguishing agents have been issued in six states

According to the National Interagency Fire Center’s report released Tuesday, 89 large wildfires are burning across the country, burning more than 3,200 square miles. Fire behavior warnings are in place for parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Nevada. Temperatures above 100 degrees in much of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, combined with fresh southerly winds and low humidity, will encourage a “sustained drying trend” that could bring wildfires to the region, the fire center said.

However, there was also good news: “There are no concerns about the risk of fire in the eastern half of the country. There will continue to be high humidity and rainfall in some areas,” the fire department said.

Flames “right on our doorstep”:Forest fires rage in the western USA

Drying out of vegetation as a result of record heat fuels park fire

The park fire has spread quickly, fed by dry vegetation from weeks of record heat. Climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain said that while the data is not enough to confirm claims that the weather was the hottest in thousands of years, “we can also disprove the countless claims I’ve heard recently, which are, ‘When I was a kid, it was always this hot!'” Swain wrote on social media. “It certainly wasn’t.”

Tehama County Sheriff Dave Kain asked evacuees to be patient, saying many areas appeared ready for residents to return, but then burst into flames again.

“This fire is extremely unstable and unpredictable,” Kain said.

The enormous size of Park Fire:One of the largest forest fires in California history

Collapse of the “carbon sink” accelerates climate change

Forests and other land ecosystems failed to contain climate change in 2023 as a severe drought in the Amazon rainforest and record wildfires in Canada hampered their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, according to a study published Monday. A record amount of carbon dioxide entered Earth’s atmosphere last year, contributing to global warming, the researchers said.

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