The fast-moving Camp Fire burned up to 1,000 buildings and homes in the Paradise area Thursday and reportedly killed multiple people, then roared into Chico and forced evacuations there.
Cal Fire-Butte County Chief Darren Read said in the afternoon that hundreds of structures in Paradise have burned, perhaps as many as 1,000. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said there are reports of multiple fatalities, and authorities are trying to verify how many.
The fire started in the Feather River Canyon near Pulga and Highway 70, then burned west. It jumped to 18,000 acres in eight hours Thursday, ripping across the Concow Valley and into and across Paradise.
Then the fire turned east. It reached Highway 99 near Neal Road by 7:30 p.m. and was approaching Highway 32 near upper Bidwell Park by 9 p.m. Evacuation orders were issued from Bruce Road east, from East 20th Street to Highway 32 along the east side of Chico, and in the Canyon Oaks subdivision farther north. Homes were reported burning on the lower Skyway near Oak Ridge Drive and Spanish Garden Drive.
Tens of thousands had already been evacuated, perhaps as many as 50,000 people, according to the sheriff. The Sheriff’s Office also has received hundreds of calls requesting deputies to perform welfare checks on unaccounted people in the fire zone. Officials expected to work through the night responding to those calls.
“This was a rapidly moving fire,” Honea said. “And it moved very very quickly from a rather remote area to populated areas.”
Honea said he had no estimate when evacuees would be able to return.
Residents in Paradise, Magalia, Concow, Yankee Hill and Butte Creek Canyon were initially ordered to evacuate. Thursday evening the evacuation order was extended from Forest Ranch south to Chico, and later to Cherokee and Oro-Chico Highway near Durham. Then the east Chico evacuations were ordered, followed by an order covering everything north of Highway 70 and east of Highway 149
Three firefighters and several citizens were taken to hospitals with injuries. Three more firefighters suffered burns.
The fire started about 6:30 a.m. Thursday at Camp Creek Road near Pulga. Read said the cause of the fire is under investigation, and likely would be for “quite some time.”
Around 2:30 p.m., Cal Fire said 20,000 acres had burned with no containment. The fire was exhibiting extreme fire behavior, Cal Fire public information officer Rick Carhart said. Firefighters are expecting sustained winds up to 30-35 mph on the fire.
“This fire did move through the town of Paradise quickly,” said Paradise Police Chief Eric Reinbold. “We’re very grateful for our partnerships with allied agencies, Cal Fire, our agency, the town staff worked as quickly as possible to evacuate, using our evacuation plans. And the things that we’ve trained for over the years. There is a lot of devastation in town. Just to reiterate, we can’t confirm how many structures, but at this point it’s very devastating to the town.’
Chaos on the ground
Witnesses and reporters on the ground described a chaotic scene as people tried to leave town.
The fire moved so fast that people were cut off by the flames and sheltered in large asphalt parking areas. Radio traffic Thursday afternoon indicated 300 people were at the Kmart lot on Clark Road, with fire in all directions. Another 100 were at a storage business at Clark and Skyway. Still another group gathered at the Holiday Market parking lot on Skyway.
Photographer Karl Mondon said at 4 p.m. the Safeway parking lot at Clark and Elliott roads was half full of evacuees. Many said they knew their homes were lost.
Wayne and Juanita McLish, 20-year residents of Fawndale Lane, said they fought for two hours to save their home until the water pressure ran out, then made it to Safeway. Wayne McLish’s face was covered in soot. The former math teacher looked stunned when he was told it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon, not the morning.
Evacuees who were able to get out of town often found themselves in gridlock. A pregnant woman stuck in traffic went into labor. In the late morning, Highway 99 northbound was clogged from south of Durham-Pentz Road to Chico. A number of people took a U-turn across the median to get off the freeway at Durham-Pentz and head toward Durham, but the Midway was backed up northbound as well.
Hospital evacuated
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Feather River Hospital and all Paradise schools were all evacuated. Hospital patients were sent to Enloe Medical Center in Chico and Oroville Hospital.
According to PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno, 32,000 customers were without power as a result of the fire in Butte and Plumas counties, which includes those in the Paradise, Pulga and Concow areas. No public safety power shut off has been implemented.
The county set up evacuation centers at Oroville Nazarene Church (2238 Monte Vista Ave.) and Neighborhood Church in Chico (2801 Notre Dame Blvd.), but both of those were reported full Thursday evening. Another shelter at the Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley still had space. At 8:30 p.m. Thursday, another shelter was opened at the Chico Elks Lodge (1705 Manzanita Ave.).
The Silver Dollar Fairgrounds is being used as a staging area for fire crews and is not open to evacuees. Butte College is also being used as a staging area.
The city of Chico’s Public Works Department said evacuees can also head to DeGarmo Park and Community Park off 20th Street in Chico, as well as Durham Park, but not to expect services.
Camp Fire evacuees are being asked to register with Red Cross’ Safe & Well website so concerned family and friends can search those lists.
Safe & Well Concerned family and friends can also search the list of those who have registered as “safe and well” by clicking on the “Search Registrants” button.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has activated the State Operations Center to provide assistance to Butte County in support of the Camp Fire.
Cal OES Fire, Law Enforcement, and Inland Region personnel are currently working with various response agencies to address all emergency management, evacuation and mutual aid needs.
Smoke from the fire was reported as far away as San Jose and Fort Bragg.
