AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Firefighters are working around the clock to contain the Park Fire, which is burning near Chico in northern California. It is now the biggest active blaze in the country at over 370,000 acres. And a man has now been charged with arson in connection with this fire. Dana Cronin of member station KQED is at the base camp in Chico. Hi, Dana.
DANA CRONIN, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: OK, so give us the latest. What is the situation on the ground there?
CRONIN: Yeah. It's pretty hazy outside here. You can still see some blue skies, but it definitely smells like a campfire out there. This incident command center is absolutely massive. It's taken over the fairgrounds here in Chico. And there are tons of fire engines and Cal Fire vehicles from different units around the state. You might be able to hear them in the background. And there are some from out of state now too.
This is officially the sixth-largest fire in California state history. Thousands of people have been evacuated, many who were living in pretty remote areas. The number of structures damaged by the fire last time I checked is officially just over 100, but officials do say that will likely go up.
The good news is that, overall, the fire is less of a threat to communities now. The weather moderated somewhat over the weekend, although nearly 5,000 firefighters have been working around the clock to contain it. California Governor Gavin Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency here and has already secured some federal funding to help local agencies fight the fire.
CHANG: And I understand the man accused of starting this fire just made his first appearance in court. Tell us more about developments there.
CRONIN: Yeah, Ronnie Dean Stout II is his name. And he was just arraigned at the Butte County Superior Court in Oroville. Authorities allege he pushed a flaming car off a cliff, igniting the wildfire and have charge him with arson. According to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, Stout didn't enter a plea this afternoon. Ramsey also relayed that Stout said the car caught on fire accidentally and denies that he pushed it. Ramsey also said he doesn't think that Stout intentionally lit the car on fire. We have not yet been able to get in touch with Stout's attorney.
CHANG: OK. Well, this fire is, of course, close to the town Paradise, which was destroyed by the Camp Fire back in 2018. I mean, how are people in the area there handling all this now?
CRONIN: Yeah, you know, not even just the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, this community was also impacted by the Dixie Fire in 2021. That fire destroyed nearly a million acres and is the largest single fire in state history. So almost everyone in this area has, in some way, been affected by fire. So you can imagine this is a really difficult, even traumatizing experience for a lot of folks. And a number of Paradise residents relocated to the area that is now burning in the aftermath of the Camp Fire, so they are now displaced once again.
CHANG: Gosh. Well, what is the fire outlook at this moment?
CRONIN: Yeah. It's hot out. It's getting hotter. The smoke is lifting, and the winds are increasing. So that has put firefighters back on the defense. Containment is now at about 12%.
CHANG: That is KQED's Dana Cronin. Thank you so much, Dana.
CRONIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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