CHICO — Wildfires are unfortunately something that most Californians are used to seeing every summer. But have you ever stopped to think about how these fires get their names?
“The person who shows up to a fire first names it, so the first incident commander picks the name based on where it started,” said Chico Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Lucanic. “Wildfires are usually named after a street, but they could be named after a park or a lake.”
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Lucanic said sometimes a command center will name the fire — and the name also helps identify which fire it is because there are usually multiple wildfires happening at any given time.
In the case of the Park Fire, Lucanic wasn’t on duty the day it started, but he’s fairly certain it was named the Park Fire because it began in Bidwell Park and the first officer who showed up named it that.
Lucanic said the name of the wildfire also helps identify which fire it is, because there are usually more than one fire at a time happening at any given time.
