As the largest wildfire in California this year approached his neighborhood, Justin Freese made the decision to remain at his home rather than comply with evacuation orders. He took proactive measures to protect his property by laying out 300 feet of fire hose, preparing his generators, and monitoring the fire's advancing threat.

Freese, who operates a business focused on car exhaust systems, assessed his supplies and determined that he had enough resources to sustain himself for an entire year. He stored nearly 10,000 gallons of water, which he planned to use to defend his two-story, wood-shingled house in Forest Ranch, located about a 20-minute drive from Chico.

As he surveyed the scene on Friday, the sky above was filled with thick smoke, billowing in ominous shades of orange, red, and black due to the Park fire's intensity. By Saturday morning, the blaze had already burned over 300,000 acres, establishing itself as the largest active fire in the nation, with no containment efforts yet successful.