A wildfire that started in Northern California on Wednesday afternoon grew overnight to become the state’s largest wildfire this year and was burning more than 45,500 acres as of Thursday morning.
The fire was one of hundreds burning in the western United States and western Canada, creating smoky skies that led to air quality warnings and drawing tens of thousands of firefighters to combat the blazes.
In Northern California, the authorities issued evacuation orders for parts of Tehama County and Butte County, where the Park fire had started on Wednesday in Bidwell Park, a large recreational area with hiking and biking trails and swimming holes, in the city of Chico. The fire swelled in the early morning hours on Thursday and was 3 percent contained.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Thursday morning that firefighters were focused on evacuations and protecting structures, while also using bulldozers and fire crews to build lines to contain the fire.
There were also 43 active wildfires in Oregon and Washington covering more than one million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Many fires are exhibiting “extreme fire behavior,” the center said.
The Durkee fire in Oregon, near the border with Idaho, is the largest wildfire in the United States, covering more than 268,000 acres as of Thursday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Oregon’s governor, Tina Kotek, said in a statement on Wednesday that fires in the eastern part of the state had “scaled up quickly,” reported Elkhorn Media Group, a local news company.
“We are facing strong erratic winds over the region that could impact all fires,” the governor said. “Rain is not getting through. Some communities do not have power.”
The authorities in Oregon issued air quality warnings for several counties, saying that the wildfires and strong winds could combine to raise pollutants to unhealthy levels. There were similar warnings in effect in parts of Washington and Idaho, with residents advised to limit their time outdoors.
The fires in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada have raised fears of a repeat of last year, when record wildfires in various parts of Canada blanketed areas as far south as Florida with dangerous smoke and haze.
In Canada, there were 176 active wildfires on Thursday in the province of Alberta, where thousands of people have been under evacuation orders since last week.
The fires forced the evacuation of Jasper National Park on Monday. On Wednesday evening, a blaze swept into the town of Jasper, setting several buildings on fire. The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, a well-known resort in the town, was on fire, according to CBC Radio, Canada’s national public broadcaster.
The local authorities said most of the remaining firefighters were being evacuated because of safety concerns. In a post on X, the park authorities said that several had stayed behind to protect the town’s wastewater treatment plant, communications infrastructure and facilities for an oil pipeline that passes through the park to the Pacific Coast.
Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister of public safety and emergency services, said on social media that he had asked the military for help.
The authorities in Calgary, Alberta’s largest city, issued a health advisory saying smoke from the wildfires was expected to cause very poor air quality. The government of British Columbia, the province west of Alberta, also warned of poor air quality.
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