Several out-of-control wildfires are burning across the West, forcing local evacuations and keeping firefighters busy as smoke pours across the region and begins to push east.
CHICO, Calif. – A wildfire that began in a park outside Chico, California, exploded in size Thursday morning, leading to urgent evacuations for areas just outside town.
The Park Fire began in Bidwell Park just before 3 p.m. local time Wednesday and quickly reached nearly 6,500 acres by Wednesday night, as local officials scrambled to get threatened residents to safety, according to CAL Fire in Butte County.
Evacuation orders were issued for two dozen zones covering more than 1,500 structures in Butte County and neighboring Tehama County. A shelter has been set up at a church in Chico.
But the fire continued to spread rapidly through the night, scorching over 45,000 acres by the pre-dawn hours Thursday morning with just 3% containment, CAL Fire officials said. There are no reports of any injuries.
More than 200 firefighters are on the scene and more are on the way from throughout Northern California, according to CAL Fire.
Those firefighters are battling wilting triple-digit summer heat and dry, breezy conditions. The high temperature in Chico reached 106 degrees both Tuesday and Wednesday, and temperatures are set to cross 100 again on Thursday.
However, cooler weather is on the way by the weekend with highs dropping to around 90.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.