13,000 people forced to evacuate as wildfires spread across Northern California
Authorities in Northern California ordered about 13,000 people in Butte County to evacuate Tuesday night as a wildfire burned more than 3,000 acres Wednesday morning.
The California Fire Department, Cal Fire, said the fire started Tuesday morning and its cause was under investigation. It was not clear how many buildings were damaged in the blaze, called the thompson firebut photos showed several homes and vehicles engulfed in flames. No deaths had been reported as of Wednesday morning.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said on a press conference Tuesday night that about 13,000 people had been ordered to evacuate. Many of the evacuation orders were for the city of Oroville, California, which is about 68 miles north of Sacramento and has a population of about 20,000.
The fire risk in Northern California has increased this week due to low humidity and high winds, which can cause fires to spread quickly. Red Flag Fire Warningswhich means the risk of wildfires is increased by the weather conditions, were in effect in more than a dozen provinces on Tuesday and Wednesday.
There’s also a dangerous heat wave in Northern California, with temperatures expected to reach 110 degrees or higher on Wednesday in cities including Sacramento, Chico and Redding, the National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning affecting most of Northern California, including Oroville.
Butte County was the site of the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history. The 2018 Camp Fire killed at least 85 people and destroyed more than 90 percent of the homes in Paradise, a small town about 20 miles north of Oroville.
Last week, residents of the nearby city of Palermo were ordered to evacuate due to the Apache fire, which burned 1,600 acres (691 hectares) and is contained.
