Fast-growing Park Fire is already California’s largest wildfire of 2024, state says

The fast-growing Park Fire near Chico has already topped the list of largest California wildfires to date in 2024, state officials reported.

Firefighters have contained just 3% of the more than 120,000-acre blaze burning across Butte and Tehama counties after sparks ignited Wednesday in the open spaces of Upper Bidwell Park on the outskirts of Chico, The Sacramento Bee reported.

As of Thursday morning, more than 216 personnel were battling the flames.

Is Park Fire the biggest wildfire in California of 2024?

As of Friday, the Park Fire was the state’s largest wildfire of 2024, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

It has already surpassed the Lake Fire, which has scorched 38,664 acres in Santa Barbara County since it began July 5. That fire is now 90% contained, according to Cal Fire.

The Lightning Complex fires in Tulare County have burned 31,309 acres since July 13 and are 10% contained, Cal Fire said.

The Park Fire also has outstripped fires in Colusa, Los Angeles, Siskiyou and other counties earlier this year.

How does wildfire near Chico compare to recent blazes?

Cal Fire statistics from 2022 through 2024 show the Park Fire is already the seventh-largest wildfire in the state in that time frame.

The Smith River Fire Complex in Del Norte County burned more than 95,000 acres in August 2023, records show, while the York Fire in San Bernardino County scorched more than 93,000 acres during the same month.

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