Sharjah 24 – AFP: Firefighters were battling a fast-moving wildfire in the US state of California on Thursday, authorities said, with more than 3,500 people forced to flee their homes.
The Park Fire broke out Wednesday evening, on the last day of a heat wave affecting the region.
More than 1,150 personnel were deployed to fight the blaze, which was only three percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).
As of 6:00 pm local time (0100 GMT) on Thursday, the fire had enveloped 124,949 acres, according to CalFire.
More than 3,500 people had evacuated the area, Governor Gavin Newsom said.
The cause of the Park Fire remains under investigation, according to CalFire.
A 42-year-old man suspected of sparking it was arrested "after an unknown male was seen pushing a car that was on fire into a gully" near the origin of the fire, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement.
The car completely burned, spreading the flames that caused the fire in the park, the statement added.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a "red flag" weather warning for "critical fire weather conditions" in the area, including wind gusts and low humidity.
The western United States has experienced several heat waves since the beginning of June, and dozens of fires are currently burning in the region.
Oregon, California's northern neighbor, is battling a megafire that is the largest in the country, having ravaged more than 268,000 acres of forest and prompting evacuations in a rural region.
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