The largest wildfire of the year ravages Northern California

Thousands of firefighters equipped with hundreds of water trucks were battling the largest wildfire of the year in Californiawhich has been ravaging the north of that western US state since last week and has already burned an area larger than the city of Los Angeles.

The so-called Park Fire, which broke out last Wednesday near the town of Chico, is ravaging a rural area located about three hours by car northeast of San Francisco.

According to the state agency Cal Fire, The megafire has already destroyed 149,700 hectaresmaking it one of the largest in state history.

So far, there have been no injuries or fatalities. The fire brigade took advantage of a slight drop in temperatures over the weekend to make some progress, now containing 12% of the fire.

Fire continues to affect Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas counties and the flames continue to spread out of control, forcing California authorities to request reinforcements from other states.

Nearly 5,000 firefighters mobilized

Nearly 4,900 firefighters are mobilized along with 33 helicopters, 400 water trucks and several aircraft to fight the flames.

Meanwhile, some 4,200 residents are under evacuation orders and authorities are urging extreme caution as the situation could escalate at any time.

“We ask the public to remain diligent and alert due to the unpredictable fire activity,” Cal Fire said.

The colossal Park fire brings back bad memories for the town of Paradisea town about 20 km from the blaze, where 85 people died in 2018 in the state’s deadliest blaze. Its residents are on alert.

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