Huge California wildfire that's engulfed 71,000 acres was triggered by man's strange and selfish behavior

The largest wildfire successful California truthful acold this twelvemonth was apparently caused by a man's unusual and selfish behavior.

An unidentified 42 twelvemonth aged from Chico was allegedly caught pushing a car that was connected occurrence into a gulley successful precocious Bidwell Park conscionable earlier 3pm connected Wednesday, nan Butte County District Attorney's Office announced.

The conveyance past tumbled 60 feet down an embankment, sparking nan blaze - which engulfed much than 71,000 acres of bluish California overnight and prompted wide evacuations, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

'The man was seen calmly leaving nan area by blending successful pinch nan different citizens who were successful nan area and fleeing nan quickly evolving fire,' nan District Attorney's Office said.

'Cal Fire arson investigators responded, secured nan segment and began to hunt for clues to place nan chartless man.' 

Authorities yet identified nan fishy early Thursday morning, and took him into custody.

He was past booked into nan Butte County Jail, wherever he is being held without bail, according to nan District Attorney's Office, which said it will merchandise nan man's sanction later connected Thursday.

Meanwhile, much than 1,100 firefighters are now battling nan Park Fire -  up from conscionable 200 firefighters connected nan beforehand lines astatine dawn.

The Chico Fire Department has said it is utilizing each occurrence motor successful nan city, and agencies from crossed bluish California are connected their measurement to assist, according to KCRA.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has besides announced it is authorizing national backing to thief combat nan occurrence arsenic it continues to destruct homes and different structures.

The grade of nan harm from nan Park Fire remains unclear, arsenic Cal Fire officials person yet to commencement tallying nan number of destroyed structures.

But authorities person said it is nan largest occurrence that California has seen each year, and nan fifth-largest successful nan authorities complete nan past 3 years.

More than 3,500 group person already been displaced arsenic removal orders stay successful spot for ample swaths of areas successful Butte and Tehama counties, pinch aggregate different areas successful each region were nether removal orders arsenic of Thursday evening.

At nan time, nan occurrence was conscionable 3 percent contained astatine that clip - though officials interest it will soon dispersed to much populated areas, arsenic occurrence conditions ramp up.

Forecasters for nan National Weather Service person warned location could upwind gusts of up to 30mph that could push nan occurrence further north.

Combined pinch debased humidity and temperatures successful nan mid-90s to low-100s done Friday evening, nan forecasters opportunity that 'can origin caller occurrence starts and ongoing wildfires to... turn quickly and dangerously successful size and intensity.'

Additionally, beardown southeast winds up nan Sacramento Valley, mixed pinch beardown southwest winds atop ridges could let nan occurrence to 'breathe,' which could consequence successful it spreading moreover much rapidly, nan Chronicle reports. 

The occurrence is now burning northbound into nan Ishi Wilderness and Lassen foothills, which experts opportunity has not seen immoderate occurrence activity successful decades - if not a century.

'Once it sewage into that area, it had a batch of substance to consume,' Dan Collins, a spokesperson for nan Butte Unit of nan California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told nan Los Angeles Times. 

There, nan occurrence was capable to eat done caller grasses that sprang up successful nan aftermath of 2 back-to-back bedewed winters, Zeke Lunder, a Chico-based occurrence master and geographer explained.

But it really accelerated erstwhile it reached higher vegetation, pinch unrecorded oaks and grapevines that spit retired embers arsenic they pain that tin beryllium carried successful nan upwind to commencement caller fires. 

The blaze is now expected to proceed to turn successful nan days ahead, Lunder said, noting that it's not different for fires of this size to double successful acreage each day.

'It's a large one,' he said.

'Unless you tin get group retired location connected nan crushed to put successful occurrence lines, craft unsocial aren't needfully going to put this occurrence retired - and nan area wherever it's burning into is highly rough' pinch steep, inaccessible terrain.

Collins moreover admitted nan occurrence crews are having problem getting resources into nan edges of nan fire, which has nan imaginable to dispersed into nan municipality of Cohasset - which Lunder said would beryllium nan 'worst lawsuit scenario' and could lead to awesome building loss.   

Collins says much containment is now needed to protect nan adjacent communities, and further removal orders whitethorn beryllium issued.