RyanWeather.com
Park Fire Morning Update 8 AM 7/28/24
From the Northern California Coordination Center:
CA-BTU Park: 353,194 acres grass, brush and timber, 12 percent contained. Extreme fire behavior reported with long-range spotting. Multiple communities are threatened. Structures are threatened with evacuation orders and warnings in place. Critical infrastructure, communication sites, power transmission lines, and private timberlands threatened. Threatened and endangered species, cultural and natural resources are also threatened.

Lassen National Volcanic Park is closed and the town of Paradise is under evacuation warnings.
Highways 32, 36 and Cohasset Road are closed in the fire area with additional threats to Highway 99. Numerous other road, area, and trail closures in effect. The incident is under unified command with CAL FIRE Team 3 (See), CAL FIRE Team 4 (Martin), and the Lassen National Forest.

Though the cause was earlier reported as under investigation, the Chico ER reported that investigators had arrested a Chico man suspected of igniting the fire.
07/26 FRI a.m. Park Fire burns to 164,286 acres, over 4,000 evacuated

~ Butte County District Attorney’s Office photo.
The 42-year-old suspect is facing arson charges. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said Thursday that investigators apprehended Ronnie Dean Stout, a twice-convicted felon and registered sex offender.
Investigators followed up on local reports of a man pushing “a car on fire” into a gully and down a 60-foot drop near Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park midafternoon on Wednesday. Ramsey said the guy was seen calmly leaving the area as the fire took off.
The fire spread from the car, which Ramsey said was Stout’s mother’s car, and grew 45,000 acres overnight; it was estimated Thursday afternoon at 75,000 acres.
It’s at 125,000 acres tonight burning in both Butte and Tehama counties; numerous firefighting airtankers from throughout the state are flying as conditions allow, along with over 1,100 personnel assigned, 6 helicopters, 41 dozers and 10 watertenders, 40 crews, and 153 engines.

~ AlertCalifornia Platte Mountain camera in Butte County Click photo to watch video
