Animation shows how California's Park Fire quickly grew to become one of the largest in state history
CBSN
Northern California's Park Fire is continuing to burn across multiple counties, nearly three weeks after it first ignited when a man pushed a burning car into a gully. A new map from CBS News' data team shows how it quickly grew to become one of the largest in state history.
The Park Fire started on July 24 in Bidwell Park in Chico — just miles from the town of Paradise, which was decimated in the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in state history. Data from Cal Fire shows the blaze exploded within hours to more than 45,500 acres, and within three days, it had spread to more than 353,000 acres, ranking it within the top 10 largest wildfires in California history. By Aug. 2 — just nine days after it ignited — it was among the top four.
As of Aug. 13, the Park Fire has scorched over 429,200 acres across four counties and is only at 39% containment.
