Cooler temperatures and higher humidity have helped California authorities fight the fast-spreading Park Fire, which quickly became one of the state’s worst wildfires this week. The blaze was 12 percent contained Sunday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

In four days, the Park Fire has ravaged more than 360,000 acres — larger than the footprint of Los Angeles — in the counties of Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama. Sixty-seven structures have been damaged or destroyed, Cal Fire Incident Commander Billy See said Sunday.

The burning areas have steep terrain and few roads, making it difficult for fire crews to work, Cal Fire Capt. Robert Foxworthy said Saturday. Abundant fuel sources and winds have contributed to the fire’s spread.

Officials said Sunday that they were seeing “some increased fire activity” but struck an optimistic tone.

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“Yesterday with the weather conditions, the fire calmed down quite a bit,” said Mark Brunton, an operations section chief for Cal Fire. “We were able to go direct, get a lot of good fire attack in.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) declared a state of emergency Friday in Butte and Tehama counties. He said in a statement that “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.” Nearly 4,000 fire personnel had been deployed as of Sunday afternoon.

Evacuation orders and warnings were in place in Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties, but some were downgraded Sunday. Some roads remained closed.

Authorities suspect that the fire began when 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout pushed a burning vehicle down a gully into a lush wild land area. Officials said he has not been charged, but they plan to book him on suspicion of intentional arson once they finish reviewing evidence, The Washington Post reported. He is in the Butte County Jail with an arraignment set for Monday, according to the Butte County district attorney’s office.

Here’s what else to know

The largest fire in California history was the August Complex Fire in August 2020, burning more than 1 million acres. The Park Fire was the seventh-largest fire in terms of acreage burned as of Sunday afternoon.

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A fire that started in Southern California’s Sequoia National Forest has spread to more than 38,000 acres. The Borel Fire ignited Wednesday on federal lands, and the blaze has swept through the communities of Havilah and Piute Meadow Ranches, the U.S. Forest Service said. Its spread had slowed as of late Sunday morning, the Forest Service wrote on its Facebook page.

Unusually hot weather has contributed to fire risk. Record-breaking heat was a factor in the state’s recent destructive fire seasons, especially in 2020, when over 4 million acres burned. California wildfires have ravaged at least 687,000 acres this year.

Officials in Canada said the wildfire in Jasper National Park was still burning.” The fire began burning through Jasper, a town in Alberta, last week, and Alan Fehr, a Parks Canada official, described it as “the most devastating wildfire in a Canadian national park’s history.”

Brianna Sacks and Maham Javaid contributed to this report.

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