UPDATE: Park Fire, Chico

The Park Fire started just before 3 pm on Wednesday, July 24 by Alligator Hole, in upper Bidwell Park in Chico, Butte County. Officials are calling the Park fire one of the biggest fires in California’s history. 

The Park fire has reached 307,368 Acres in two counties Butte County and Tehama County, Butte estimated 52,190 acres have burned, and in Tehama County, 255,178 acres have burned.  Firefighters held a 3% containment for the first few days, Cal-Fire has reported it has been downgraded to 0% containment, as they have also issued more evacuation orders and warnings for many other zones in the area.

Paradise and Magalia have been put under evacuation orders and warnings, prompting fears of the 2018 Camp fire in the same area that devastated Paradise and displaced many.

According to the CAL-FIRE website, the resources deployed to fight the Park fire are:

16 Helicopters
231 Engines
116 Dozers
58 Water Tenders
61 Crews
2,484 total Personnel

Road closures in the area are as follows:

Route 32 at the junction with State Route 36 in Tehama County and at Bruce Road in Butte County
Cohasset Rd. at Rock Creek, Upper Park Rd. at Wildwood
Keefer & Hicks
Hicks & Oasis
Forks of the Butte Bridge
32 & Yosemite (Eastbound only)
99 & Meridian
32 & Upper Humboldt
Meridian/Butte Tehama Line
Cohasset/Eaton

Evacuation orders have been issued for thousands of people, with many more in Evacuation warnings as far as Paradise and Magalia.

Evacuation Orders:

DLS-66-B
BUT-CH-120
BUT-CH-149
BUT-CH-150
BUT-BM-235
BUT-BM-236
BUT-BM-237
BUT-INS-244
BUT-COH-250
BUT-COH-251
BUT-COH-252
BUT-COH-253
BUT-FR-260
BUT-FR-261
BUT-FR-262
BUT-FR-263
BUT-FR-264
BUT-FR-265
BUT-FR-266
BUT-FR-267
BUT-FR-268
BUT-FR-269
BUT-FR-270
BUT-FR-271
BUT-FR-272
BUT-FR-273
BUT-CNE-317
PCK-468
PCK-474
PCK-476
PLU-040
PSR-478
PSR-480
PSR-482
TEH-470
TEH-496-B
TEH-498-B
TEH-500
TEH-694-B
TEH-696-A
TEH-696-B
TEH-720-B
TEH-726
TEH-728
TEH-732
TEH-734
TEH-736
TEH-852
TEH-854
TEH-856
TEH-858
TEH-882
TEH-882-A
TEH-882-B

Evacuation warnings are:

BUT-TOP-01
BUT-TOP-04
BUT-TOP-09
BUT-BM-235
BUT-BM-236
BUT-BM-237
BUT-PHI-240
BUT-PHI-241
BUT-PHI-241-A
BUT-INS-244
BUT-INS-245
BUT-MA-282
BUT-MA-285
BUT-MA-286
BUT-STI-299
BUT-CNE-311
BUT-CNE-312
BUT-CNE-313
BUT-CNE-314
BUT-CNE-315
BUT-CNE-316
BUT-CNE-318
BUT-CSE-361
BUT-CSE-363
DLS-444
DLS-446
DLS-462
MAN-410
MAN-412
MAN-414
MAN-416
MAN-418
MAN-420
MAN-422
MAN-424
MAN-426
MAN-428
MAN-5000
MAN-5010
MAN-5020
MAN-5030
MAN-5040
MAN-5050
MAN-5060
SHI-5070-A
TEH-448
TEH-408
TEH-694
TEH-694-A
TEH-730
TEH-840
TEH-850-A

An arrest has been made in connection with what Officials are calling arson, when witnesses saw a man matching the description of Ronnie Stout II 42 of Chico, Ca who pushed a burning car down a ravine by Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park, and calmly walk away while blending in with the crowd and escaping the scene, and later being arrested at his home in a mobile park. Ronnie Stout II has two prior strikes in the early 2000s for child molestation and robbery with great bodily injury.

He has been booked in the Butte County Jail on No Bail; his arraignment has been set for Monday.

Many of the locals are comparing this fire to the 2018 Camp fire in Paradise, the evacuees are also some of the ones who had to be evacuated and lost their homes in that fire as well.

Some of the folks who live in area of Paradise and Magalia are skeptical of evacuating while others haven’t taken the chance to get out and stay with family and friends or motel/hotels. Looting seemed to be one common theme of why some didn’t want to evacuate.

“I’m not worried as of yet, we can see the smoke, but have lived in this area for 50 years and seen many fires but depending on the winds I’m staying here,” says Elvy a homeowner in Magalia.

“We got warnings on this side of town, but we aren’t so worried unless the winds shift, that can be a huge problem for us” says Rex a homeowner in Magalia, also adding that “I learned with the last fire I spent three days in a hotel, and a couple of other days at a friends house before I could get back to my house which I luckily didn’t lose in the fire like so many others, in that fire in Paradise.” Also telling us that there’s a lot of panic in the community up here due to the Camp fire.

Elijah whose family has a ranch in Chico told us that his family got out safely with the cows and other animals. “when we got on Meridian it was like looking at hell” while sharing “ I think a lot of people around here are traumatized when it comes to fires, back in 2018 in the Camp fire it was like reigning hell, and most of the ones around here where there then and seeing this must bring back those memories.”

A “firenado” fire tornado has been captured on video with the Park Fire.

Remember if you’re in an Evacuation zone it’s important you do so, take your valuables and everything else can be replaced but a life cannot be.

Stay tuned with the Roadrunner, Local and National News for more information on the Park Fire.