California’s largest wildfire rapidly grows, threatening thousands of homes and causing evacuations in four counties. The Park Fire, currently at 480 square miles (1,243 sq km), was ignited on Wednesday and has already destroyed over 130 structures. Officials compare its intensity to the devastating Camp Fire that killed 85 people in 2018. Elsewhere in the U.S. West and Canada, fires forced evacuations and caused significant damage. In California, residents of Mineral, a community near Lassen Volcanic National Park, were evacuated due to the fire’s northward movement towards Highway 36 and eastward towards the park. A fast-moving wildfire in eastern Washington destroyed three homes and five outbuildings and forced evacuations. The most damage so far has been to Jasper National Park in Canada, where over 25,000 people fled due to a fast-moving wildfire that devastated the town of Jasper, a World Heritage site. In Idaho, lightning strikes caused numerous fires, evacuating multiple communities and burning about 31 square miles (80 sq km). Oregon still has the largest active fire in the US, the Durkee Fire, which was only 20% contained. Over 5,800 square miles (15,000 sq km) have burned in the U.S., and over 22,800 square miles (37,000 sq km) have burned in Canada.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/27/g-s1-13869/californias-largest-wildfire-explodes-in-size