Thompson Fire Spreads to Oroville, Northern California

Lina Portman2 days ago

0 2 minutes read

LOS ANGELES — A massive wildfire spread rapidly across Northern California Tuesday, forcing officials to issue evacuation orders and shut off power as parts of California suffered a heat wave.

The Thompson Fire started shortly before 11 a.m. in Butte County, a high-risk fire zone where temperatures have exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. By evening, the fire had spread to more than 2,000 acres, threatened a subdivision home to more than 1,500 residents and was 0% contained, the Butte County Fire Department said in a statement. Local reporters photographed several homes on fire.

About 400 personnel have been mobilized to fight the blaze, the statement said, adding that helicopters, fire crews and water trucks have been mobilized. Resources will continue to flow into the county from across the state, officials said at a news conference earlier in the evening.

A massive wildfire broke out in Butte County, California, on July 2, prompting evacuation orders and warnings. (Video: The Washington Post)

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced that the state has secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure resources are available to fight the fire.

The county sheriff's office issued evacuation orders in parts of Oroville, and about 13,000 people were under evacuation orders as of 6 p.m. local time, Butte Fire Chief Garrett Sjolund said. After two wet winters and mild fire seasons, California has seen a surge in wildfires this summer, fueled by dried-out, overgrown grasses and vegetation.

“The conditions in our county this summer are very different than we’ve had the last two summers. The fuels are very dense, the brush is dry, and as you can see, even the slightest wind can put out a fire very quickly,” he said.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning Tuesday for several areas of California, including Oroville. For some areas, the warning is in effect through July 10.

Due to the dangerous weather conditions, Cal Fire asked PG&E to shut off power to at-risk areas, affecting about 2,000 people, said Dan Collins, a Cal Fire captain in Butte County. Two evacuation centers have been set up for residents.

Three firefighters experienced heat-related issues while on duty and went to area hospitals for evaluation. However, Collins stressed that firefighters were trained for the heat, which is not abnormal for the area in June.

The fire started Tuesday morning in Oroville, between Cherokee Road and Thompson Flat Road, and was spreading to the Kelly Ridge area, about nine miles away, by late evening.

Butte County has seen deadly wildfires before. The Camp Fire nearly incinerated the town of Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people. In 2021, the Dixie Fire, sparked by PG&E power lines, devastated the city of Greenville and ended up burning nearly a million acres, the second-largest wildfire in state history. On Tuesday, residents of Paradise, which has yet to be fully rebuilt, shared photos on Facebook of thick columns of smoke as the Thompson Fire rapidly spread just 20 miles to the south.

Experts had warned that California’s fire season could intensify this week due to a prolonged heat wave and high winds. Parts of the state’s interior experienced their hottest June on record. More than 120,000 acres have burned this year, unusually high for the start of the season, The Washington Post reported.

Masih reported from Seoul.