CHICO, Calif. (CN) — Norm Rosene didn’t evacuate his home in north Chico until around 1 a.m. this past Thursday.
The Park Fire — which on Tuesday became California’s fifth biggest wildfire in recorded history and the largest so far this year — had started far from Rosene’s property on July 24. A friend of his on the Butte County search-and-rescue team asked if he’d heard about the fire. At that time, Rosene could see smoke from the blaze. He figured that evening the fire would be to the east of his home.
But then the wind changed, and the Park Fire began to approach.
“I didn’t retreat until the last minute,” Rosene said. “I really thought I could do some good.”
Rosene had moved his vehicles into an abandoned quarry on his property and took other defensive steps before leaving. Reaching safety nearby, he could see the flames on his property, but not his house. One of the best moments of his life was hearing a firefighter say the home had been saved.
“We have a place to go home to, unlike a lot of our neighbors,” Rosene said.
That portion of the fire, which climbed over 380,000 acres on Tuesday, has settled significantly since Rosene had to evacuate. Cal Fire said Tuesday morning that the lines containing the southern part of the blaze are holding.
However, people far to the north are now dealing with what Rosene faced last week, he said.
Containment of the fire reached 14% Tuesday, a 2% increase over the prior day. The blaze has destroyed almost 200 structures and damaged 19.
About 2,000 people remained under evacuation orders in Butte County on Tuesday, said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.
Some evacuation orders, including the one for the Forest Ranch community on the southeast side of the fire, were lifted Monday evening, allowing people to return to their homes. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Office has resumed an escort program for residents, though Honea emphasized that people should not verbally abuse his staff or their request will be pushed back.
The Park Fire is one of many moving across the state. Governor Gavin Newsom visited Kern County on Tuesday, where the Borel Fire started last week. It’s one of several blazes that comprise the SQF Lightning Complex — three fires that together had reached almost 90,000 acres on Tuesday.
Despite having escaped the fire’s worst, Rosene remains focused on the blaze. He’s a volunteer with Butte County’s search-and-rescue team, as well as the North Valley Animal Disaster Group.
Around noon Tuesday he and other volunteers went to a former search-and-rescue member’s home, which had burned, to help him move a safe. They used Rosene’s tractor to lift the safe onto a truck.
“That’s all that’s left of his possessions,” Rosene said.
Rosene is quick to point to the positives, noting his work with the animal group. Many times, stories that come out of wildfires focus on the state of the animals. Instead, he sees the story about people working to provide those animals shelter as a massive fire rages.
About two days ago, his group used a helicopter to reach an area inaccessible by vehicle. Someone then found a car where four rottweiler puppies and their mother had been for a couple of days. The volunteer hiked out with the dogs. They were dehydrated, but their conditions have improved and they’ve since been reunited with their owners.
“Having those little puppies around was a breath of fresh air,” Rosene said.
Cal Fire said that as of Tuesday, California wildfires have charred 751,327 acres this year — burning 29 times more acreage than last year. Ninety-five percent of wildfires are human-caused.
Butte County authorities have charged Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico with arson of an inhabited structure or property, along with a handful of special allegations that could affect his sentence, if convicted.
Authorities say Stout sparked the fire by pushing a burning car into a gulley.
Stout appeared Monday before a Butte County Superior Court judge and was appointed a public defender. Ordered held without bail, Stout is scheduled to again appear before a judge Thursday when he’s expected to enter a not guilty plea.