Northern California wildfire forces more than 26,000 to evacuate

OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Officials in a Northern California community have canceled an annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as about 26,000 residents remain displaced by a growing wildfire and hundreds of firefighters struggle to cope. extreme heat to prevent the flames from reaching more homes.

The Thompson Fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento, near the town of Oroville in Butte County. It has emitted a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space while it extended over more than 14 square kilometers.

Oroville Mayor David Pittman said there was a “significant decline in fire activity” Wednesday, and he hoped some residents could soon be allowed to return home.

The fire's progress has been halted along the southern edge and firefighters working on steep terrain were attempting to build containment lines on the north side. As of Wednesday evening, the containment rate was 7%.

“On the north side, they have real challenges in terms of topography,” Pittman said.

More than a dozen other fires, mostly small, were active across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). A new fire Wednesday afternoon prompted brief evacuations in the densely populated Simi Valley, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The state's largest fire, the Basin Fire, has covered nearly 22 square miles of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County and is 26 percent contained.

In Oroville, a emergency state A state of emergency was declared Tuesday night and evacuation centers were set up. The evacuation zone expanded Wednesday to the foothills and rural areas beyond the city of about 20,000 people.

As July 4 approaches, officials have warned that fireworks are banned in many places, including most of Butte County. Officials also cited ongoing evacuations and damage from the Thompson Fire for the cancellation of the Oroville fireworks show, which had been specially authorized.

California State Parks officials said in a statement that multiple agencies have a large number of resources responding to the fire and are working to get everyone home as quickly as possible.

“These agencies also have employees whose families were displaced by these evacuations and who are tirelessly helping the Lake Oroville community,” the statement read.

Authorities have warned that any illegal use of fireworks will result in serious legal consequences.

“Don’t be stupid, don’t start a fire and don’t create more problems for us,” Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said. “No one in the community wants that.”

There was no official report on property damage. An Associated Press photographer saw the fire ripping through three adjacent suburban-style homes in Oroville.

The fire ignited blades of grass protruding from the concrete edges of Lake Oroville as gusts of wind lifted American flags lining a bend in the state's second-largest reservoir and the nation's tallest dam.

Residents on the hills could see the orange glow of water-dropping planes. A crew of more than a dozen firefighters saved a home as goats and other farm animals fled.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Serious fire warnings were in effect at the time of the fire.

“The conditions in our county this summer are very different than we’ve had the last two summers,” Garrett Sjolund, Cal Fire’s Butte County unit chief, said during a briefing. “The fuels are very dense, the brush is dry. And as you can see, any wind can put out a fire very quickly.”

The conditions led utility Pacific Gas & Electric to cut power in parts of northern California to prevent fires from being started by downed or damaged electrical wires.

In Southern California, Joshua Tree National Park officials on Wednesday closed Covington Flats — an area home to most of the park's significant Joshua tree populations — due to extreme fire risk after spring rains brought an abundance of grass that has now dried out.

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Garrett Sjolund's first name. It is Garrett, not Garret.

___

Antczak reported from Los Angeles.