Wildfire Spreads Near Town Destroyed in California’s Worst Blaze

Authorities in California warned residents on Tuesday to evacuate a rural community in the northern part of the state as a wildfire spread near the town of Paradise, the site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history.

The blaze in the town of Palermo, called the Apache fire, grew to nearly 700 acres. The fire began on Monday and about a quarter of it was contained by Tuesday night. At least one person was injured and two structures were destroyed in the fire, state officials said.

California’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire, told residents in parts of Butte County to be aware of changing weather conditions on Tuesday as it issued evacuation warnings, downgraded from the orders that it had issued earlier.

Palermo is about 30 miles south of Paradise, which the Camp fire engulfed in 2018, burning more than 150,000 acres of land.

Over the span of more than two weeks, the blaze killed at least 85 people and destroyed more than 90 percent of the community’s homes.

Cal Fire has blamed that fire on electrical transmission lines belonging to Pacific Gas & Electric, the natural gas and electricity utility. The cause of the Apache fire was under investigation.

Paradise, still rebuilding from the devastation six years ago, suspended burnings last week, as the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning, the highest-level alert for the risk of wildfires amid strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures.

Another wildfire was spreading quickly and prompting evacuations Tuesday night in central Oregon, aided by gusty winds and dry conditions. After igniting earlier in the day, the Darlene 3 fire burned about 1,700 acres, and zero percent was contained, state fire officials said.

Residents in Deschutes County near the fire were told to evacuate immediately on Tuesday. Gov. Tina Kotek ordered state resources to be sent to respond to the fire.