Wildfires break out across California: Latest fire and smoke maps

Wildfires are exploding across the West, especially in California, where the Park Fire has grown to be the biggest in the state this year.

The largest of several wildfires in the state is the Park Fire, burning in Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas counties, north of Chico. As of Sunday night, the fire had grown to 360,141 acres acres and was 12% contained.

At least 134 structures, including homes, have been destroyed by the blaze, now the seventh largest fire recorded in California history in only a few days.

"You know, we felt it and all the people through here," Chico-area rancher John Russell told ABC News on Saturday as he looked out at the burnt landscape surrounding the 200-acre property, pointing to the fire line that firefighters cut with a bulldozer to save his barn and cattle.

He said he is still assessing the damage to his property and expressed surprise at the speed of the blaze, which authorities suspect was deliberately set on Wednesday afternoon. But having witnessed the 2018 Camp Fire that completely leveled the Butte County town of Paradise, Russell said he was not surprised by the devastation of the Park Fire.

"When you say, did you think it would ever happen, you better believe it," Russell said. "Anything can happen in this country at any time."

Paradise resident Jen Robbins said she lost everything in the Camp Fire and isn't sure if the new home she built in Paradise is still standing. She said she has PTSD from the 2018 blaze.

"The skies were looking kind of clearer above our side of town, but then things changed really quickly and the whole town, everything was black. And so we decided it was time to go," Robbins told ABC News of how rapidly the fire spread in her community, causing her to evacuate.

The rapid spread of the fire is being fueled by an abundance of vegetation and one of the hottest and driest summers on record in the area, officials said.

Temperatures in the area, which have been in the triple digits, have cooled slightly, with the high temperature in the Chico area forecast to hit 92 degrees on Sunday and 94 on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Winds have also died down in the area.

By the end of this week, temperatures are forecast to spike back into the 100s.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Butte and Tehama counties due to the Park Fire, as well as Plumas County, where the Gold Complex Fire, which started on July 22, has burned more than 3,000 acres and was 50% contained on Sunday.

"We are using every available tool to protect lives and property as our fire and emergency response teams work around the clock to combat these challenging fires. Stay safe and remain alert for instructions from local authorities as dangerous fire weather conditions continue," Newsom said in his statement on Friday.

Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, was arrested on suspicion of arson in the Park Fire after he allegedly pushed a burning car into a gully in Bidwell Park, near Chico, according to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey. Stout, who is being held without bail in the Butte County Jail, is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

"I don't know if I'd say I'm angry, but frustration and unnecessary, yes," Russell of learning the fire might have been set on purpose. "I know I'm being recorded, so I won't say obviously, I'll put it tactfully... Our cattle survived. We can go on. We can fix the rest. But truly, the real damage and sadness and anger would come from the people who have lost everything."

There are more than 3,700 personnel, 16 helicopters and 337 fire engines assigned just to the Park Fire, officials said.

The Lake Fire, in Santa Barbara County, is the second-largest burning in the state at the moment at more than 38,000 acres, though it is now 92% contained after sparking July 5.

Meanwhile, farther north, the Durkee Fire in Oregon had grown to more than 288,000 acres on Sunday with 20% containment, according to the Oregon/Washington Bureau of Land Management. It was sparked on July 17 by a lightning strike and had been the largest fire in the country so far this year until it was surpassed by the Park Fire.

More than 500 people were fighting the fire, as rain fell overnight in the area, providing some relief for firefighters, according to officials.

The pilot of a single-engine fire tanker carrying retardant was found dead on Friday in Grant County in eastern Oregon after the aircraft was reported missing, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

Smoke spreads across several western states

Temperatures in the fire zone, which has been in the triple digits, have cooled slightly, with the high temperature in the Chico area forecast to hit 92 degrees Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

By the end of this week, temperatures will spike back into the 100s, with lows only around 70.

The heavy smoke from fires in Northern California and Oregon is spreading across several states, including Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. By Monday afternoon, some of the heavy smoke is expected to reach as far as the Dakotas and Nebraska.

The Air Quality Index is expected to rise 150 in Boise, Idaho, on Sunday, which would put it in the "unhealthy" category, the fourth of six levels. In Butte, Montana, the Air Quality Index was forecast to be in the 100 to 150 range and "unhealthy for sensitive groups."

ABC News' Jaclyn Lee contributed to this report.