Two weeks after it started, the Park Fire is burning actively toward Lassen Peak, and firefighters are bracing for more high temperatures and low humidity.
Around noon Wednesday, Aug. 7, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the fire had burned 422,924 acres (660 square miles) — an increase of about 9,000 acres in less than 30 hours. Containment was 34%.
The growth was an arm extending along Mill Creek in Lassen National Forest. On Monday night, new evacuations were ordered in that area of Tehama County. On Tuesday the fire crossed Highway 172 near Jones Valley, and on Wednesday it crossed Highway 36, CalFire said. Highway 36 was closed in the area of the fire, Caltrans said Wednesday.
The fire was about 5 miles south of Lassen Volcanic National Park, which has been closed since July 27.
The map above shows the approximate perimeter of the fire as a black line, and the evacuation zone in red.
Butte County reduced the last of its evacuation orders to warnings on Wednesday afternoon. In Tehama County, about 470 square miles remained under evacuation order.
The fire started July 24 in a park at the edge of Chico. Arson is suspected.
For details of the evacuation zone, including warning areas, see the Butte County evacuation map or the Genasys Protect map (Tehama, Shasta and Plumas counties).
An earlier CalFire estimate of 425,724 acres was revised on Wednesday afternoon.
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