Firefighters battle blaze in more difficult conditions

Firefighters continued to battle the massive wildfire raging across Northern California Sunday. The Park Fire, which started near the small town of Chico, had burned more than 350,000 acres by Sunday night, Billy See of the state agency Cal Fire reported, making it the seventh-most destructive blaze in California history. Progress was made Saturday amid light winds and cool temperatures, allowing firefighters to control 12 percent of the Park Fire, See said at a news conference. But conditions were more difficult Sunday, he said, citing more intense heat and stronger winds.

The fire has so far forced the evacuation of 4,200 people from Butte County and is burning in a mountainous area about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Sacramento, the state capital. Firefighters are battling in rugged terrain as the fire’s activity “is growing stronger”, warned Mark Brunton, the chief of operations. About 4,000 officers, air assets and bulldozers are being mobilized against the fire, which has not yet claimed any lives. However, it has destroyed or damaged 67 buildings, according to Billy See. On Thursday, police arrested a 42-year-old man suspected of starting the fire by driving a burning car into a ravine.