By Rich Mackay
(Reuters) – More than 6,000 firefighters in California’s Central Valley continued to battle the largest wildfire in the United States on Saturday, which has made its way into the history books as the state’s fourth-largest on record.
Meteorologists said there was little to no rain Saturday due to thunderstorms that brought winds and zero to one-tenth of an inch of rain.
Temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) and winds gusting to 25 mph or more in some areas offered little comfort to firefighters trying to contain the Park Fire, which has burned through wilderness about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Sacramento, the state capital.
“We’ve had some thunderstorms that have caused temperatures to drop, and that’s a problem,” said Christopher Young, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “Lightning is one of the things we’re concerned about.”
The Park Fire, started by an alleged arsonist who pushed a burning car down a 60-foot-deep ravine near Chico, California, on July 24, has since burned more than 400,000 acres (162,200 hectares), or more than 600 square miles, an area larger than the city of Los Angeles.
The 42-year-old had not entered a guilty plea as of Saturday, but was charged with arson and was being held without bail, officials said.
More than 560 homes and other buildings have been destroyed since the fire erupted 11 days ago, scorching fallen wood and dry grass. Officials said the fire was 27 percent contained Saturday.
More than 4,000 people have been evacuated in the Park Fire, including retiree Jim Young, 65, of Red Bluff, California, who was living in a mobile home with his dog, a black Labrador retriever named Sparky.
He and his dog had spent the past eight days camping with some other families on a gravel plot off a wilderness trail about six miles from his home, and they worried every day about whether it was safe.
“We just found out we can go home. Our belongings are safe. A lot of people lost everything. But Sparky and I can go home now,” Young told Reuters late Saturday.
Officials said the rugged, wild terrain means it takes two to three hours to reach the fire lines. Some firefighters are being airlifted to the front lines by helicopter, and some are expected to stay there for days as supplies also arrive.
The national wildfire season is underway, putting more firefighting resources at risk. The National Fire Center has already requested assistance from firefighters in Australia and New Zealand, who will arrive starting Aug. 7 and deploy to Oregon and Washington.