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

CHICO, Calif. (AP) — California's largest wildfire so far this year continued to grow Thursday as it chewed through timber in very hot and dry weather.

The Park Fire has scorched more than 660 square miles (1,709 square kilometers) since erupting July 24 near the Sacramento Valley city of Chico and burning northward up the western flank of the Sierra Nevada. Containment remained at 34%, Cal Fire said.

The conflagration's early explosive growth quickly made it California's fourth-largest wildfire on record before favorable weather reduced its intensity late last week. It reawakened this week due to the heat and very low relative humidity levels.

A large portion of the burned area was in mop-up stage but spot fires were a continuing problem, officials said during Thursday morning's operational briefing.

The fire's northeast corner was the top firefighting priority, operations deputy Jed Gaines said.

“It's not time to celebrate,” he said. “We got several more days of hard work to hold what we got in there.”

The latest Park Fire assessments found 636 structures destroyed and 49 damaged. A local man was arrested after authorities alleged he started the fire by pushing a burning car into a gully in a wilderness park outside Chico.

About 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the south, a new forest fire in El Dorado County was exhibiting extreme behavior, and some Park Fire aircraft were being diverted there.

The Crozier Fire, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Placerville, had burned more than 2 square miles (5.17 square kilometers) of timber and chaparral as of Thursday evening and was just 5% contained. The fire threatens 1,625 structures, according to Cal Fire.

This story has been corrected to show that the Crozier Fire has burned 5.17 square kilometers, not 3.2 square kilometers.

A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire from near Mill Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters work to keep a spot fire from growing as the Park Fire burns along State Route 172 in the Mill Creek community of Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters work to keep a spot fire from growing as the Park Fires burns along State Route 172 in the Mill Creek community of Tehama County, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter works to protect a structure as the Park Fire approaches in Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire from near Mill Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire from near Mill Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Flames leap above trees as the Park Fire burns in the Mineral community of Tehama County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire from near Mill Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Firefighters work to keep a spot fire from growing along State Route 172 as the Park Fire burns in the Mill Creek community of Tehama County, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A helicopter drops retardant while trying to keep the Park Fire from spreading in the Mineral community of Tehama County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Flames from a spot fire rise above trees along State Route 172 as the Park Fire burns in the Mill Creek community of Tehama County, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter walks through haze as the Park Fire burns near the Mineral community of Tehama County, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024 (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

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

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

A firefighter uses a drip torch to burn vegetation while trying to stop the Park Fire from near Mill Creek in Tehama County, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded almost simultaneously Tuesday across Lebanon and in parts of Syria, killing at least nine people, government and Hezbollah officials said. Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The ministry does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count but says a little over half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says four soldiers were killed in southern Gaza and five others were wounded, with three of them in serious condition.

The deaths on Tuesday came nearly a year into the war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. The army did not describe the circumstances, but Israeli media reported that the soldiers were killed by a hidden bomb that exploded inside a building.

One of the four, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, an army paramedic, was the first female soldier to have been killed in combat in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

Hamas and other armed groups remain active across the territory despite months of heavy Israeli bombardment and ground operations that have destroyed vast areas and displaced most of the population.

Israel says 346 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of ground operations last October. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them.

Pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded near-simultaneously Tuesday in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding more than 2,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack.

The AR-924 pagers used by the militants were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary’s capital, according to a statement released Wednesday by Gold Apollo.

“According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” the statement read.

Gold Apollo chair Hsu Ching-kuang told journalists Wednesday that his company has had a licensing agreement with BAC for the past three years, but did not provide evidence of the contract.

The AR-924 pager, advertised as being “rugged,” contains a rechargeable lithium battery, according to specifications once advertised on Gold Apollo’s website before it was apparently taken down Tuesday after the sabotage attack. It could receive text messages of up to 100 characters and claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life. That’s something that would be crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages have been common as the tiny nation on the Mediterranean Sea has faced years of economic collapse. Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them more resilient in emergencies — one of the reasons why many hospitals worldwide still rely on them.

FILE - Israeli soldiers move next to destroyed buildings following Israeli strikes during a ground operation in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Civil Defense first-responders carry a man who was wounded after his handheld pager exploded, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024.(AP Photo)

People gather outside the American University hospital after the arrival of several people who were wounded by exploding handheld pagers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians in Lebanon wave their national flags during a protest in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People gather around an ambulance carrying wounded people whose handheld pager exploded, at the emergency entrance of the American University hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The supermoon rises behind the houses in Mas'ade, a village in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A Lebanese Red Cross volunteer collects blood donations for those who were injured by their exploded handheld pagers, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, at a Red Cross center in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)