Huge California wildfire chews through timber in very hot and dry weather

CHICO, Calif. (AP) — California’s largest wildfire so far this year continues to chew through timber in very hot and dry weather. The Park Fire has scorched more than 660 square miles since erupting July 24 near the Sacramento Valley city of Chico and burning northward up the western flank of the Sierra Nevada. Containment remains at 34% on Thursday. The conflagration’s early explosive growth quickly made it California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record. The latest assessments show 636 structures destroyed and 49 damaged. To the south, a new blaze called the Crozier Fire has spread over more than 2 square miles of El Dorado County forest. Authorities say extreme fire behavior is occurring there.