A rapidly growing wildfire in Northern California forced evacuations after spreading overnight at an alarming rate.
Evacuations were ordered in California’s Butte and Tehama counties as crews battled a fire reported near Chico just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Park Fire quickly spread to more than 45,000 acres is just hours and was only 3% contained early Thursday, according to CAL FIRE.
The cause was under investigation.
The fire east of Chico started just before 3 p.m. Wednesday. The location is about 15 miles west of the town of Paradise, which was devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire. More than 80 people died and more than 18,000 structures were damaged or destroyed in the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history.
The Park Fire is one of more than two dozen wildfires burning in California.