Thousands of firefighters in the western United States and Canada are protecting homes from wildfires..Air quality worsens

California’s largest park fire in Southern California is wiping out a wider area than the city of LA, worsening air quality with thick smoke. The damage from the 2018 wildfires is also being felt. Firefighters are battling the “Park Fire” in the Cochetset area of Ventura County, California on July 25. Hundreds of thousands of people in Northwestern USA and parts of Canada are under air quality advisories due to the wildfires spreading in the regions. The Park Fire, considered this year’s biggest wildfire in California, has already burned an area larger than Los Angeles by July 28. The thick smoke has led to air quality alerts in a large area of Northwestern USA and Canada. The flames have scorched a vast area of 1,430 square kilometers in Northern California, causing extensive damage. The cooler weather and higher humidity on July 27 aided firefighting efforts, resulting in progress with containment reaching 12%. Compared to the 2018 Camp Fire, which was the region’s largest at the time, the current Park Fire is of comparable scale. Evacuation orders have been issued for areas including Paradise in Butte County on July 28, but fire officials have reported good progress in containing the Park Fire near Paradise. Fire Chief Jeremy Pierce stated that the most active flames are being contained, and no major threats are expected in the next three days. Fortunately, the fire has not spread to the city of Chico, located just west of Paradise. However, by the afternoon of July 28, the fire had reached as far as Highway 32 to the west. Firefighters used the highway as a firebreak to stop the spread towards Butte Valley. Currently, 3,400 firefighters are combating the Park Fire, supported by numerous firefighting helicopters and air tankers deployed since the initial outbreak. The firefighters have described the fire’s rapid spread as unprecedented, causing astonishment among many. The scene in the burned areas on July 28 was described as grim, with burnt mailboxes and cars, and melted motorcycles due to the fire retardant dropped by helicopters. The Park Fire started on July 24 after a man fleeing from the authorities set a burning car on fire and drove it into a drainage ditch near Chico. The arson suspect was arrested the following day and is scheduled for trial on July 29. The National Interagency Fire Center reported over 100 active fires across the US, including the Park Fire, fueled by extreme heat, lightning strikes, and climate change, posing a high risk of further wildfire outbreaks.