Yankee Hill
CRIME & SAFETY
Park Fire vortex caught on camera
An Alert California tower camera in the area captured a fire tornado, or firenado, near Chico around 5 p.m. Thursday. A burning car pushed into a gully sparked California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said Thursday as they announced the arrest of a suspect. Flames from the fire the man is accused of starting exploded into what is now the Park Fire, which has burned more than 195 square miles (505 square km) near the city of Chico. Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the blaze only 3% contained by Thursday evening.
Oroville man gets 30 years to life for killing two Flordia brothers
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Kyle Matthew Smith, 28, originally from Oroville, was sentenced to 30 years to life in state prison for his role in the October 2020 double homicide of Jerry and Randy Bonds, two brothers from Florida. This sentencing followed Smith's May 30 no-contest plea to two counts...
Police arrest 2 suspects following pursuit on Highway 32
BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. - Two suspects are in custody following a pursuit on Highway 32, according to the CHP. The CHP said that sometime this afternoon, a vehicle blew past a marked road closure in an evacuated area of the Park Fire. Then authorities initiated the pursuit in the Forest Ranch area, with the vehicle heading back to the Chico area.
Firefighters responding to recyclable materials fire in Oroville
OROVILLE, Calif. 3:38 P.M. UPDATE - CAL FIRE Butte Unit is responding to a fire at the Crown Metals facility off of Feather River Boulevard in Oroville. Action News Now reporter Margot Rowe, who is at the scene of the fire, says that CAL FIRE received reports of a fire around 1:12 p.m. Wednesday.
Wildfire monitoring camera captures moments leading up to it being consumed by Park Fire
BUTTE COUNTY – A camera monitoring the Park Fire burning near Chico appears to have been overcome by the flames. The camera, part of the Alert California network, was perched on a peak about nine miles northeast of the Chico Municipal Airport. It's been watching the Park Fire grow since Wednesday afternoon. Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, the smoke plume from the fire started to take up nearly the whole frame of the camera. By 7 p.m., smoke filled nearly all of the screen. Operators appear to have pointed the camera down shortly after, clearly capturing flames encroaching just under the...
Tree erupts in flames from Park Fire
A KOVR camera crew was gathering video of roadside flames in the Chico, CA area Friday morning. A tree near the road caught fire and qui8ckly erupted in flames. Just shows how dry and fast brush can catch fire. (KOVR) Butte County has declared an emergency in response to the raging Park Fire near Chico. It's prompted a slew of evacuations that have extended into Tehama County. The emergency declaration will allow the county to request more resources from the state. As of early Friday morning, Cal Fire reported that the fire had burned more than 164,000 acres — some 256 square miles. Containment was at first reported to be 3%, but Cal Fire reduced it to 0% on Friday. Cal Fire said the Park Fire was the result of suspected arson and ignited around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Upper Bidwell Park area, about four miles northeast of Chico's city center. Cal Fire noted on Friday that 134 structures have been destroyed, while 4,200 remain threatened. No specifics have been released on the kinds of structures destroyed, but it's clear that several homes have been burned.
Man arrested for starting California’s largest wildfire of 2024 by pushing burning car into gully
A man has been arrested on suspicion of sparking California’s largest wildfire of the year by pushing a burning car down a steep embankment.Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, was seen shoving the smouldering vehicle down a 60-foot gully in the Alligator Hole area of Bidwell Park in Chico, California, at around 3pm local time on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.Stout was then seen “calmly leaving the area by blending in with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire,” authorities said.The flames from the car in question quickly...
Cal Fire's air tankers at Sacramento McClellan Airport running around the clock to fight Park Fire
MCCLELLAN PARK – The battle to put out the flames stretches from Butte County to Sacramento County, as air tankers perform a delicate dance of taking off and landing, in an effort to put out the flames.The fight to put out fires is just as important on the ground as it is in the air. Over 100,000 gallons of fire retardant have been loaded up as of Friday into tankers to fight the Park Fire from here and that number keeps climbing as tankers keep flying in.Cal Fire's air tanker base at McClellan running around the clock. As one air...
Firefighters respond to structure fire in Chico
CHICO, Calif. - A structure fire sent two people to the hospital with smoke inhalation Friday morning. Around 4:30 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to the fire at the North Valley Apartments. When crews arrived, they found smoke coming from the second story of the apartment building. Crews said they found the fire burning in a water heater closest on the second floor.
Pedestrian in critical condition after being hit by vehicle in Chico
CHICO, Calif. — The Chico Police Department (CPD) says that there was a vehicle versus pedestrian crash in Chico on Wednesday that has left one in critical condition. CPD says that around 12:41 p.m. officers were dispatched to the intersection of E. 12th Street and Park Avenue for a vehicle versus pedestrian collision.
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