The largest wildfire in the US has expanded to over 600 square miles, surpassing the size of Los Angeles, as reported by California fire officials. Thousands of firefighters are combating the blaze in a wilderness area north of Sacramento.

The Park Fire, burning in California's Central Valley about 90 miles north of Sacramento, has grown to 385,065 acres, making it the fifth-largest wildfire in the state's history. Over 5,500 firefighters from California and other states are working tirelessly to contain the fire.

This wildfire has now surpassed the 2020 Creek Fire in Fresno County, which burned nearly 380,000 acres. However, it remains smaller than the August Complex fire of 2020, which burned more than 1 million acres across seven northern California counties.

Fire Captain Dan Collins of Cal Fire explained that the Park Fire is fueled by dry grass, brush, and timber, making it fast-moving and challenging to control. "This fire has lots of fuel that is receptive to burning, and it's hard to get to," he said. "Our fire line is 260 miles around, that's the size of three Lake Tahoes. It can take two to three hours to get personnel in there over the terrain."

Meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook from the National Weather Service noted that while there's a slight chance of a thunderstorm on Tuesday, no significant rain is expected, and the weather will remain hot and extremely dry. Temperatures are forecast to reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday and stay high through the following Monday, with relative humidity dropping to as low as 7%.

As of Tuesday, the Park Fire was only 14% contained. It has forced over 4,000 people to evacuate and has destroyed or damaged more than 192 structures. Fortunately, no injuries or deaths have been reported.

Jeremy Hollingshead, a Cal Fire spokesman, mentioned that heavy smoke has grounded the 41 helicopters used for water and fire retardant drops. Evacuations have included the town of Paradise, which was devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in California's history.

Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, of Chico, California, has been charged with arson for allegedly starting the Park Fire by pushing a flaming car down a gully in Butte County. He denied any wrongdoing during his arraignment on Monday. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey stated that Stout did not enter a plea and was denied bail, with more charges possibly being added at his continued arraignment on Thursday.