With more temperate weather, the Park Fire’s flames have slowed but not before topping more than 353,000 acres in Northern California and becoming the seventh-largest wildfire in California history.
As of Sunday morning, the Park Fire has burned about 353,194 acres in Butte, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama counties and is at 12% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The wildfire started on Wednesday in Upper Bidwell Park, east of Chico.
Firefighters got a better handle on the Park Fire on Saturday due to improved weather conditions, after it doubled in size before its third full day of activity.
In a Sunday morning briefing, Cal Fire officials attributed Saturday’s subdued weather to a layer of smoke that covered most of the area of the wildfire.
Thick wildfire smoke can block sunlight and lower temperatures in the area, according to research from the U.S. Forest Service.
“Looks like we have that again today,” Cal Fire’s Jeff Tomkins said at the briefing. “But smoke modeling and transport winds would suggest that the smoke is going to move to the north today.”
This means the smoke may thin out but even with clear skies on Sunday, the weather does look favorable, he said.
Jay Tracy, spokesman for Cal Fire, told The Sacramento Bee that firefighters are hoping to take advantage of favorable conditions to make a good push on firming the fire boundaries, specifically on the east and north side.
“They’re looking to go direct attack on some of the fire head,” Tracy said.
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Article URL : https://www.yahoo.com/news/park-fire-engulfs-more-353-183938826.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall