Thousands of people evacuated during major forest fire in California

The fire is spreading at a rate of around 1,600 to 2,020 hectares per hour, emergency services said on Friday evening (local time). The so-called Park Fire, which was fueled by a heat wave, is the most severe forest fire in California this summer. It has devastated almost 97,000 hectares. Despite the deployment of around 1,700 firefighters, the fire is “zero percent” under control, said the California Fire Protection Authority Calfire. Hundreds of additional helpers are expected to reinforce the operations.

• Read also: Fires in southern Italy: 1,200 tourists evacuated

A total of 4,000 people were evacuated from the towns of Cohasset and Forest Ranch, and another 400 from the city of Chico. According to authorities, 134 buildings have been destroyed so far.

The forest fire broke out on Wednesday evening. In just two days, it had already reached rank 20th among the largest fires in California’s history in terms of area.

Suspect arrested

A 42-year-old man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of starting the fire. According to the district attorney, he was seen pushing a burning car into a ravine.

California is experiencing an early start to what appears to be a particularly severe wildfire season, with 20 active fires currently burning. Another 40 fires are threatening towns in the more northern states of Washington and Oregon. In eastern Oregon, the pilot of a small firefighting plane was killed, according to authorities.

Neighbouring Canada is also suffering from the flames caused by extreme heat: a devastating forest fire in western Canada destroyed part of the town of Jasper, located in the national park of the same name, on Thursday. The flames reached the town, which is popular with tourists, on Wednesday evening after spreading quickly.