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As of August 16, 2024, 5,210 wildfires have been recorded in California, destroying 821,877 acres of land; July alone saw the fourth largest wildfire in state history, the Park Fire, which was confirmed to be arson and has so far destroyed 429,188 acres of land and 637 structures and is still active.

There are currently 12 active fires, the largest of which affect Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas counties.

The storm has been active for over a month and authorities have only managed to contain it by 49 percent. Thirty-two evacuation warnings have been issued in Tehama and six in Shasta. 10 evacuation orders have been issued in Tehama.

It is located on Upper Park Road in Upper Bidwell Park, east of Chico, where 1,003 structures are threatened. The Park Fire has burned 113,744 acres in the Lassen National Forest.

According to CalFire, June in California was warmer than normal and there was an excess of fine fuel due to the unusually wet winter and spring months, which made vegetation more vulnerable to fire spread and ignition than in previous years.

In addition, vegetation is much denser below 3,000 feet, which can lead to rapid fire spread during an initial attack, especially in areas where wind and topography are aligned. These conditions are generally considered to be indicative of a longer and more intense fire year, especially when compared to the last three fire years.

According to the agency, the months of July through September are more dominated by grass and fine fuels than by large woods, which are less likely to catch fire due to the spring rainy season. However, the spread of fires through underbrush and woody fuels suggests, based on incident activity in the first half of the fire year, that fires are likely to spread fiercely and quickly even in the wood fuel model.

While the number of fires in the state is on par with the five-year average, the number of acres burned during this period is much higher than average. Climate forecasters predict above-average temperatures across California, meaning an unusually high fire risk for the rest of the year.

As of May 31, 2024, 38 people have been arrested for arson.

From 1980 to 2024, wildfires were the most expensive disaster in California, accounting for 64.7 percent of the total costs, which range between $50 and $100 billion.

Key figures 2024

• 99 forest fires covering an area of ​​over 120 hectares, which is 628 percent more than the five-year average for large forest fires.
• 826,398 acres have been burned by local, state and federal wildfires, up 125 percent from the five-year average of acres burned to date.
• 1 forest fire-related death this year.

It’s worth noting that most wildfires occur between April and October, when the weather becomes warmer and drier. In Southern California in particular, the hot and dry Santa Ana winds increase the risk of wildfires in October and November.

Some of the worst wildfires in California history occurred outside of this period. The Camp Fire in 2018, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise outside Redding in Northern California, was a November fire.

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