California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for areas affected by two wildfires on Friday night, saying they destroyed homes and threatened infrastructure.
The proclamations cover Butte and Tehama counties — home to the massive Park Fire — and Plumas County, home to the much smaller Gold Complex fire.
The proclamations make it easier to access unemployment benefits and waive fees to replace lost driver’s licenses and other registrations, among other benefits for wildfire victims, the governor’s office said.
The Park Fire started in a park in Chico on Wednesday and quickly moved into northern wilderness areas, blooming to 239,152 acres without containment by Friday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
It was the largest of the state’s active fires on Friday.
The Gold Complex fire has consumed 3,007 acres and was 11% contained as of Friday night, the agency said.
The fires, the governor’s office said in a statement, were “forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, destroying homes and threatening critical infrastructure.”
Active and recent wildfires across the state have consumed nearly half a million acres, according to Cal Fire. Homes, infrastructure or both have been threatened amid California’s six large, uncontrolled fires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Flames from the Park Fire have already destroyed 134 structures, according to Cal Fire. Evacuations and road closures were in effect for it and the Gold Complex fire, the National Interagency Fire Center said.
The Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California so far this year, was ominous, with video capturing a vortex of smoke that was a possible “firenado.”
“Within several hours, the #ParkFire exploded from a 400-acre fire to a 71,000+ acre inferno, consuming everything in its path,” Cal Fire said on the social media platform X on Thursday.
The California fires were among a series of summer wildfires across the West and Canada that sent huge plumes of smoke into the atmosphere, where NASA satellites, aircraft and ground-based observatories captured images of the pollution.
Authorities allege the Park fire was started when a man pushed a burning car down an embankment on Wednesday.
“The car fell into an approximately 60-foot embankment and burned completely, spreading flames that caused the park fire,” Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement.
He added: “The man was then seen calmly leaving the area, mingling with the other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.”
A suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, was arrested Thursday, Ramsey said. He was booked on suspicion of arson and held without bond, according to Butte County Jail records.
It was unclear whether Stout had legal representation. Butte County’s contracted public defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.
Nearly 1 million people in the western United States were covered by fire weather watches and warnings Friday night, with a red flag warning covering the area of the Park fire until 11 p.m., according to the National Weather Service . The warning states that the area will be subject to gusty winds and low humidity.
The nonprofit news and research organization Climate Central said in an analysis earlier this year that parts of California, Oregon and Washington are experiencing twice as much fire as they did a century ago, a development that correlates with climate change.
Todd Miyazawa contributed.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
