California man defends his home as wildfires push devastation and spread smoke across US West

COHASSET, Calif. (AP) — In the small forest community of Cohasset, Ron Ward watched as flames hundreds of feet high from California’s deadly Park Fire approached his family ranch.

He had lost insurance coverage on it just a month earlier as companies increasingly drop California homeowners due to the growing risk of wildfires in the state, in part due to hotter weather and arid conditions caused by climate change. So he and his son Ethan went to work installing a fire protection system involving a water line to a pond and sprinklers. The system’s pump was delivered right when the fire started.

The flames reached within 70 feet (21. meters) of his house. Then they stopped.

“It hit our sprinklers and kind of died down and then went around our property and missed, missed all of our structures,” Ward said. His 100-year-old ranch was saved.

Cohasset exhibited charred remnants of the devastation Sunday, a scene that Ward described as a “moonscape.” Mailboxes and vehicles were covered with pink fire retardant dropped by aircraft. The husks of a washer and dryer set were surrounded by burned debris and a blackened motorcycle was propped upright, balancing on rims after its tires apparently melted away.

Firefighters made progress and were helped by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas in the western United States, but further evacuations have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames.

Ward, who stayed behind with a few friends, had to be the one to call his bookkeeper and neighbors to tell them their homes were gone.

“They haven’t even been able to get back to look at their homes,” he said, tearing up as he recounted last week's experience to The Associated Press in an interview Monday.

The Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California this year and the sixth largest in the state’s recorded history, was one of more than 100 large active wildfires burning in the U.S. on Monday. The man arrested on suspicion of starting the blaze in Northern California by pushing a burning car into a gully made his first appearance in court Monday and was charged with felony arson of an inhabited structure or property.

Ronnie Dean Stout was arrested at his home in Chico a day after the fire started. Prosecutors said Stout has a previous criminal record and would face life in prison if convicted.

There was no reply to an email to the district attorney asking whether Stout had legal representation or someone who could comment on his behalf. Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey told reporters after the hearing that Stout says the incident was an accident, The Sacramento Bee reported.

The Park Fire scorched more than 575 square miles (1,489 square kilometers), an area greater than the city of Los Angeles, as of Monday, according to CAL Fire. It has destroyed more than 100 structures and is threatening 4,200 more.

Firefighters reached 12% of containment after being aided by cooler temperatures and more humidity over the weekend and it remained at that figure Monday.

Evacuation orders were in effect Monday on 25 wildfires, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than 27,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to wildfires that have burned more than 3,200 square miles (8,288 square kilometers) nationwide, the center said.

Some blazes were sparked by the weather, with climate change increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the western U.S. endures blistering heat and bone-dry conditions.

Ward said that even though he and his friends “survived the onslaught," he remains vigilant, waking up at 5 a.m. and patrolling the area for fires until nightfall in his all-terrain vehicle.

“We’re just cruising around and putting out fires,” he said.

The National Weather Service issued “red flag” warnings Monday for wide swaths of Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, in addition to parts of California, meaning dry fuels and stronger winds were increasing the fire danger. Air quality alerts were also issued for Monday in the northwestern U.S. and western Canada.

More than 4,800 firefighters were battling the fire Monday, aided by numerous helicopters and air tankers.

The Park Fire has drawn comparisons to the 2018 Camp Fire that tore through Paradise, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes.

In Southern California, about 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate because of a fire sweeping through the Sequoia National Forest. The wind-driven blaze ate up more than 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) in four days, Andrew Freeborn of the Kern County Fire Department said.

U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said one-third of U.S. residents live in an area where human activities and wildland vegetation intersect, creating a higher potential for wildfires, according to a statement.

“We question living here for sure,” Ward said of his ranch in Cohasset. But generations have remained since his wife's great grandfather settled there in 1905, and he isn't the one to leave, he said.

“There's a lot of history here,” Ward said. “So we live on this ranch and we’re committed to this ranch and preserving the ranch.”

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Ding reported from Los Angeles. AP reporters around the U.S. who contributed include Nic Coury, Rebecca Boone, David Sharp, Becky Bohrer, John Antczak, Rio Yamat, Holly Ramer, Sarah Brumfield, Claire Rush, Terry Chea, Scott Sonner, Martha Bellisle, Amy Hanson and Kathy McCormack.