LOS ANGELES — An aggressive wildfire continued to burn Wednesday in Northern California, forcing authorities to order thousands of people to evacuate as parts of California and the West suffered under what some forecasters are calling a historic heat wave.
The Thompson Fire started shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday in Butte County, a high-risk fire zone that has been experiencing temperatures topping 100 degrees. By noon Wednesday, the blaze had spread to 3,568 acres and was still zero percent contained, according to California fire officials.
The fire has elevated concerns about Fourth of July revelers sparking new blazes on Thursday. Oroville — the city most at risk from the Thompson Fire — canceled its planned fireworks display, as have other communities in Northern California.
Approximately 400 personnel have responded to the fire, the Butte County Fire Department said in a statement, adding that helicopters, fire crews and water tenders have been pressed into service.
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Because the fire is burning next to Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir, fire officials have been able to use helicopters to repeatedly douse the flames with lake water.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced that the state has obtained a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure the availability of resources to fight the fire.
The county sheriff’s office issued evacuation orders in Oroville and surrounding areas, with 28,000 people under evacuation orders as of 11 a.m. local time, Butte Fire Unit Public Information Officer Rick Carhart said. That equates to roughly one-seventh of the county’s population.
“The conditions out there in our county this summer are much different than we have experienced the last two summers. The fuels are very dense, the brush is dry, and as you can see, any wind will move a fire out very quickly,” Butte Fire Unit Chief Garrett Sjolund said.
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After two wet winters and mild fire seasons, fires have surged in California this summer. Several fires have erupted in the last week in the Central Valley and southern California, the largest of which is the 14,000-acre Basin Fire in Fresno, which is 26 percent contained. No fatalities have been reported in the 17 active fires Cal Fire is tracking.
The National Weather Service has issued an excessive-heat warning for several areas in California, including Oroville. For some areas, the warning is in place until July 10.
Because of the red-flag conditions, Cal Fire asked PG&E to shut off power to risky areas, affecting about 2,000 people, said Dan Collins, a captain at Cal Fire’s Butte County station. Two evacuation centers were set up for residents.
Three firefighters experienced heat-related issues while working and went to area hospitals for evaluation. However, Collins pointed out that firefighters have trained in and for this heat, which is not abnormal for the region this time of year.
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The blaze 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. The cause has yet to be determined.
According to the Sacramento office of the National Weather Service, a red-flag warning for the area will remain in effect until at least 8 p.m. Wednesday local time. Northerly winds are forecast to be 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph, with the strongest winds expected in the morning.
Forecasters and fire officials are closely watching the wind directions, because if gusts were to blow south, they could spread the fire into the main part of Oroville, a city of 20,000 people.
Butte County has experienced deadly wildfires before. The Camp Fire nearly incinerated the town of Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people. In 2021, the Dixie Fire, which was sparked by PG&E power lines, devastated the town of Greenville and ended up burning nearly 1 million acres, the second-largest fire in state history. On Tuesday, residents in Paradise, which still has not been fully rebuilt, were sharing photos on Facebook of thick plumes of smoke as the Thompson Fire rapidly spread just 20 miles south.
Serious situation unfolding on #ThompsonFire near Oroville. Intensification over the past hour is clearly apparent on weather radar imagery, depicting a taller/denser plume that has also been exhibiting some weak rotation at times. Very hot, dry, & windy. #CAwx #CAfire https://t.co/Zvja6ZYCZX pic.twitter.com/ALK7v5S1kZ
— Dr. Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) July 3, 2024
Experts have warned that California’s fire season could escalate this week amid a prolonged heat wave and strong winds. Some places in the state’s interior experienced their warmest June on record. More than 139,590 acres have burned this year — which is unusually high for this early in the season, The Washington Post reported.
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As of Wednesday, 110 million Americans were facing either a heat advisory, watch or warning, according to the National Weather Service. The heat wave comes amid the hottest year on record so far for the planet. The last 13 months, including June, have set record highs. According to the science communications firm Climate Central, human-caused climate change has made this week’s heat wave in California at least five times as probable.
Masih reported from Seoul. Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
