A wildfire that has tripled in size in one day, becoming California’s largest of the year even as other blazes scorched the Pacific Northwest, was started by a burning car, authorities said. They arrested a man who was seen pushing the blazing car into a gully.

The man was seen pushing the car in Bidwell Park in Northern California’s Butte County, and it burned completely, spreading flames that caused the Park Fire, county prosecutor Mike Ramsey said in a news release. The blaze had burned more than 257 square miles (666 square kilometers) by early Friday near Chico, a city of about 100,000.

A 42-year-old man is arrested.{ai:summary}<p>A wild blaze erupted in Northern California’s Butte County, fanned by a burning car pushed into a gully by an arsonist. The inferno surged to become the largest of the year, consuming over 257 square miles and transforming the landscape around Chico.</p><p>With flames racing like a guilty secret, the fire mirrored the chaos lurking just beneath the surface of everyday life. Justice caught up with the man responsible, but the scars of his reckless act remained. #crime</p>

Wildfire sparked by a burning car triples in size in a day

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