The Shasta County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that it has lifted evacuation orders for several areas in Cottonwood, Millville and Shingletown. Less restrictive evacuation warnings also were lifted for several areas in parts of southern Shasta County, the sheriff's office said.
As of Thursday morning, the fire was 392,480 acres in size and 18% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
While some evacuations are going smoothly, fire and weather conditions are still posing challenges for firefighters trying to get the blaze under control, Cal Fire said.
The fire was most active in northeastern parts of Tehama County and Butte County, Cal Fire said Thursday morning. Additional crews arrived to help with the firefighting, officials said.
“Today is the first of several days of increasingly critical fire weather. Temperatures will rise from the upper 90s to the lower 100s. Daytime humidity will drop into the upper teens today. Winds will be drier from the south, but wind speeds will be close to previous days. There is more instability to the north, where we will see smoke columns and plumes,” Cal Fire said Thursday.
Smoke from the fire also remains a problem. Air tanker flights were delayed Thursday morning due to smoke and visibility problems, according to emergency scanner traffic.
Northern California is expected to see warmer temperatures on Friday and Saturday, but there is a chance of thunderstorms and erratic winds.
Thunderstorms are forecast for Friday in the northeastern portion of the fire in the Lassen National Forest area, Cal Fire said. The agency also noted that crews are still working in areas with lava rock, steep drainages and other difficult terrain.
The fire started on the afternoon of July 24. Firefighters said a Chico man intentionally set the fire in Upper Bidwell Park outside Chico when he pushed his mother's burning car over the edge of an embankment. The vehicle rolled about 60 feet down a hill to the bottom of a gully where it burst into flames, the Butte County district attorney's office said.
The man, Ronnie Dean Stout II, has been charged with arson in connection with starting the fire. He was scheduled to attend a hearing Thursday in Butte County Superior Court for further arraignment.
Readers, please scroll down for updates posted on Thursday, August 1st.
Thursday 09:06: Building damage numbers increase dramatically, critical fire conditions approach
The number of damaged structures in the Park Fire has risen to 483, while the total number of damaged buildings has risen to 47, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Thursday morning.
Most of the destroyed buildings — 356 — are in Butte County, while 127 buildings were destroyed in Tehama County, Cal Fire reported. The agency said 85 percent of the damage assessment has been completed.
While more structures were destroyed in Butte County, the fire burned more acreage in Tehama County than in Butte, Cal Fire said. 339,481 acres were burned in Tehama County, compared to 52,999 in Butte County, where the fire started.
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This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Park Fire Updates: Shasta County Evacuations Eased as Fire Continues to Grow
