LOS ANGELES, United States, July 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Firefighters were
battling a fast-moving wildfire in the US state of California on Thursday,
authorities said, with more than 3,500 people forced to flee their homes.

The Park Fire broke out Wednesday evening, on the last day of a heat wave
affecting the region.

More than 1,150 personnel were deployed to fight the blaze, which was only
three percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection (CalFire).

As of 6:00 pm local time (0100 GMT) on Thursday, the fire had enveloped
124,949 acres (50,565 ha), according to CalFire.

More than 3,500 people had evacuated the area, Governor Gavin Newsom said.

The town of Chico, under threat from the fire, is located just 12 miles (20
kilometers) west of Paradise, a town that was destroyed by a massive wildfire
in 2018, resulting in the deaths of 85 people.

The cause of the Park Fire remains under investigation, according to CalFire.

A 42-year-old man suspected of sparking it was arrested "after an unknown
male was seen pushing a car that was on fire into a gully" near the origin of
the fire, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement.

The car completely burned, spreading the flames that caused the fire in the
park, the statement added.

On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a "red flag" weather warning
for "critical fire weather conditions" in the area, including wind gusts and
low humidity.

The western United States has experienced several heat waves since the
beginning of June, and dozens of fires are currently burning in the region.

Oregon, California's northern neighbor, is battling a megafire that is the
largest in the country, having ravaged more than 268,000 acres of forest and
prompting evacuations in a rural region.

The raging flames have created vast columns of smoke, affecting air quality
as far away as neighboring Idaho.

Wildfires were also burning in western Canada, where part of the tourist town
of Jasper has been destroyed.

Western North America has increasingly been affected by extreme weather
events, exacerbated by climate change.

In mid-July, Newsom warned of a fire season that was "shaping up to be very
active."

Extreme weather events have become increasingly common thanks to global
warming, experts say, largely due to mankind's fossil fuel use.