Weather must change and challenge firefighters

California’s largest wildfire so far this year and the seventh-largest in state history grew overnight, while containment of the Park Fire that burned two counties remained unchanged.

Containment remains at 12%.

The fire continues to burn strongest on the east side, in the Butte Meadows area of ​​Butte County. Crews spent much of Sunday battling two spot fires, each about 100 acres, in that area. Officials said Monday that firefighters did a good job overnight placing blades and hand lines around the two fires.

Fire activity is also increasing along the west side of the fire, east of the town of Dairyville in Tehama County.

Assessment teams remain on the ground inspecting and confirming the damage. A report released Monday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection listed 100 structures destroyed. The number of damaged structures was listed at 5.

Meanwhile, the Chico man accused of starting the fire by pushing a burning car down an embankment in Upper Bidwell Park will be arraigned Monday afternoon in Butte County Superior Court.

Ronnie Stout was arrested Thursday morning by arson by Cal Fire and district attorney investigators in Butte County.

Readers, scroll down to see the latest updates for Monday, July 29th.

9:00 am: The weather is expected to challenge firefighters on Monday

The weather over the weekend helped crews increase containment lines around the Park Fire.

But at a morning briefing on Monday, firefighters were told that the weather will change later on Monday, which has the potential to spur more fire activity.

More: Park Fire reminder of climate change’s impact on California

Southwest winds are expected to become stronger in the afternoon, with gusts exceeding 32 kilometers per hour.

Firefighters were also reminded that the fire is being caused by dense vegetation, especially in the west, where there is an abundance of grass like they haven’t seen in years. Additionally, there is lava rock on the west side of the fire, making it difficult to lay hoses and cut fire lines with excavators.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Park Fire near Shasta County: Blaze grows to nearly 370,000 acres