Thousands of firefighters battling a massive northern California wildfire were working in milder temperatures and higher humidity Monday, but the blaze that has destroyed more than 100 structures since it began five days ago continues to grow.

The Park Fire, which officials said was started by a man who pushed a flaming car into a gully, grew slightly overnight to 368,000 acres (148,924 hectares). The sixth largest wildfire in state history is rolling through a remote area some 180 miles (290 km) northeast of San Francisco, according to Cal Fire.

Crews were “still in for quite a firefight today, just because (of) the sheer magnitude and the sheer size of the fire,” said Dan Collins, a Cal Fire captain, noting that temperatures were to be in the high 80s with 25% percent humidity during the day.

Some 4,800 firefighters were building and strengthening control lines on Monday morning hoping to increase the 12% they had contained. The more favorable weather conditions compared to those they faced over the past several days were helping, Collins added.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said in a statement that the accused arson suspect, Ronnie Dean Stout II, was jailed without bond on a Butte County judge’s warrant after he was identified as the person seen pushing a flaming car into a gully on Wednesday afternoon.

The fire rapidly grew, doubling in size from Friday to Sunday and destroying at least 114 structures in four counties.

The fire has also caused officials to issue evacuation warnings and orders to several communities, including Paradise, the town that was devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest in the state’s history.

Cal Fire also reported on Monday that 33% of the SQF Lightning Complex was contained. That fire has raged for the past two weeks some 350 miles (563 km) to the south of the Park Fire. Part of that complex, dubbed the Borel Fire, swept through Havilah, torching much of that historic gold mining town on Friday.

The Park and Borel fires were just two of the 102 large active fires burning nationwide. A total of 25 had forced evacuations as of Monday morning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

A cold front in the Pacific Northwest, where many of the fires burn, was forecast to bring rain and thunderstorms to the region on Monday. However, the system will carry strong wind gusts of up to 50 miles (80 km) per hour that could hamper firefighting efforts, the center said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Los Angeles:

A teenage girl fatally shot herself with a deputy’s gun in the lobby of a sheriff’s station in California, authorities said Monday.

The girl, who has not been named, began hammering on the door of the station in City of Industry, near Los Angeles, on Sunday evening.

As officers went to open the door, the girl managed to grab a service weapon from one of them.

“The juvenile lunged into the lobby and reached for the deputy’s holstered firearm and took possession of it,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

“A struggle ensued between the deputies and juvenile who was armed with the deputy’s firearm,” the release said.

“During the struggle, the juvenile suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

The girl was pronounced dead at the scene by attending paramedics.

Homicide detectives were probing the incident, which officials said appeared to have stemmed from a call officers had received relating to a family disturbance.

US police are routinely armed and carry their weapons with them at all times.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday’s fatality “was not a Deputy Involved Shooting incident,” using the terminology employed when an officer has shot someone.

Violent encounters between the police and members of the public are not uncommon in the country.

A tally by the Washington Post newspaper shows more than 1,100 people have been shot dead by police nationwide in the last 12 months.

The figures are not official as police departments are not required to report incidents to the federal government.

Police and their supporters say the prevalence of guns in American society means officers have to assume people they interact with could be armed.

Firearms claim tens of thousands of lives every year in the United States, a country where there are more guns than people.

Polls show a majority of Americans favor stricter gun regulations, but the powerful firearms lobby and mobilized voters supporting the country’s strong firearms culture have made congressional action difficult. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)