Vintage vehicles worth thousands are turned to dust as devastating photos show car graveyard torched by Chico wildfire

A WILDFIRE that was caused by a car fire threatened 42,000 structures, burned nearly 400, and ravaged several vintage cars.

At the time of publication, the fire is only 18% contained and continues to burn through the state.

REUTERS/Fred Greaves TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images - Getty

Northern California’s Park Fire, a wildfire started after Ronnie Dean Stout II pushed a burning car into a gully in Butte County on July 24, 2024, has been deemed the largest wildfire in the state this year.

He was arrested a day after the blaze began at home just after 2 am.

In less than 72 hours, the wildfire decimated 300,000 acres.

At one point, the fire was burning at 5,000 acres per hour.

The flames took out 361 structures, and damaged 36, according to Yahoo! News .

Several homes have perished from the inferno, including several cars.

One unlucky homeowner lost their entire collection of vintage cars , which appear to be 1950s DeSotos.

The first was from 1952, and the second looks like a 1950 model.

The condition of the DeSotos before they were burned is unknown, but a fully restored 1950 Custom went for $96,250 at auction in 2008.

The car pictured in the middle, from 1952, has an average sale price of $33,000 fully restored.

DeSoto was a brand by Chrysler from 1928 to 1961 and produced more than two million units, but was discontinued due to high competition.

They also had quality control issues, such as leaky windshields and rear windows, splitting upholstery, and flaking paint.

Cars from competing brands like Chevrolet and Ford sold more units, so Chrysler cut the chord, according to Hagerty .

Some DeSotos are rare, though the models pictured are fairly common, so it’s possible that the owner can get parts for the 1950 and 1952 models.

Wildfires – what are they?

Here's what you need to know...

• A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire that typically occurs in large rural areas of vegetation
• Types of wildfire include brush fires, bush fires, desert fires, forest fires and peat fires
• Fossilised evidence suggests that wildfires began soon after land plants appeared 420million years ago
• Wildfires can destroy large areas of vegetation, and also threaten human property and life
• They are common on Earth due to the carbon-rich vegetation, dry climates, high levels of atmospheric oxygen, and widespread lightning
• Serious wildfires are hard to control and supress, as they can spread unpredictably and move quickly over large areas
• Wind can also be a major factor in the fast spread of wildfires

Nearly 6,000 firefighters are battling the intense flames, and face the challenges presented by the terrain and abnormally dry and long brush.

WILDFIRES

Wildfires are uncontrolled fires that burn in wildland vegetation, according to National Geographic .

They often occur in rural areas.

These disasters are unfortunately common in California due to the state’s winds and dry climate.

From 2018 to 2022, 43,843 wildfires burned 8.7 million acres in the Golden State, per Valuepenguin .

Texas was the state with the second-highest wildfire count in the US at the time.

Its 42,293, wildfires burned almost 1.9 million acres during that time.

Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images - AFP or licensors

Photo by Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images - AFP or licensors