California wildfires rip through US as chilling maps show raging path of destruction

Maps show the terrifying spread of a wildfire tearing itself across California and forcing authorities to order evacuations.

The fire is spreading across Butte County in Northern California , getting dangerously close to the city of Chico with a population of 100,000. Shocking images of fire tearing across the Park were shared before the flames consumed the camera.

A spokesperson for AlertCalifornia said: "The Richardson Springs camera is now offline and we do not know its status." According to fire watchers, fire is burning north toward Richardson Springs driven by winds. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It is believed to have broken out at around 2.52pm on July 24.

The fire erupted near Upper Bidwell Park in Chico on Wednesday afternoon, quickly scorching approximately 1,500 acres and triggering evacuation orders, officials reported.

Cal Fire's Butte Unit spokesperson Rick Carhart announced that they are collaborating with the Chico Fire Department to combat the fire, which is situated in a "multi-agency threat zone."

Chief Meteorologist & Chief Climate Correspondent at ABC News Ginger Zee, who is at the scene, shared a video showing a home explode as the fire spread. So far ‎45,548 acres of woodland have already burned, according to Cal Fire. The fire is only three per cent contained, latest reports suggest.

One worried Chico local wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "Scary night here in far Northern California. The #Park fire is headed for the north edge of town." A fire in southern California also was moving fast and threatening homes.

Evacuation orders were in effect Wednesday night in San Diego County after a wildfire began to spread fast near the San Diego and Riverside county line. Fire officials say the Grove Fire is spreading southeast through steep and challenging terrain. The fire grew to 1.3 square mile (3.4 square kilometers) within a few hours but was 5% contained just before 8 p.m., Cal Fire said on the social media platform X.

This comes as powerful winds and hundreds of lightning strikes from thunderstorms rattled eastern Oregon and Idaho Wednesday afternoon, cutting power and stoking fires, including one in Oregon that is already the largest active blaze in the nation.

The Durkee Fire, burning near the Oregon-Idaho border about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Boise, Idaho, caused the closure of a stretch of Interstate 84 again Wednesday. Amid rapidly forming storms in the afternoon, the blaze crossed the interstate near the town of Huntington, home to about 500 people. It also merged with the Cow Valley Fire, another large blaze that had been burning nearby, Gov. Tina Kotek said.

“The wildfires in Eastern Oregon have scaled up quickly,” Kotek said in a news release Wednesday evening, calling it a dynamic situation. “We are facing strong erratic winds over the region that could impact all fires. Rain is not getting through. Some communities do not have power.”