A perfect storm of hot, dry winds, untouched brush and remote topography has fueled explosive growth of the Park fire north of Chico, now over 178,000 acres.
Just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, as temperatures in Butte County simmered around 106 degrees, a man pushed a burning car down a gully in Chico in what authorities say was an act of arson. Within minutes, the flaming vehicle ignited tall grasses that had sprung up in the wake of a wet winter but dried out in recent weeks.
During that blaze, dozens of people were trapped on the area's limited roadways while trying to escape. 'Cohasset was particularly concerning to us because … there is really only one way out and that is a narrow, windy road,' said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. 'It is hard to traverse, so we wanted to get those warnings out as quickly as we could.
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