Thompson Fire slows in Butte County, some Oroville residents can return home
BUTTE COUNTY – Several mandatory evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings Thursday for the Thompson Fire in Northern California. The Butte County Sheriff's Office also lifted several evacuation warnings across the Oroville area.
Lake Oroville and most of the surrounding recreational areas and parks were closed on Independence Day. California State Parks said some areas may reopen Friday depending on how conditions with the Thompson Fire develop.
The parks department had already announced this week that Oroville's popular Fourth of July fireworks show was canceled this year, and the city enforced a temporary fireworks ban.
During the early evening Thursday, Cal Fire's Butte department announced that an Oroville resident was arrested for setting a backfire hours after the Thompson Fire ignited on Tuesday. The man used a propane torch to burn around a quarter of an acre in a high-risk area.
Wildland firefighters typically use backfires to burn through combustible materials to create a barrier that a spreading wildfire would have difficulty crossing. The man arrested is not accused of starting the Thompson Fire.
Cal Fire reported Thursday afternoon that the fire has burned more than 3,700 acres, with containment jumping to 29%
Several structures, including homes, have been destroyed or damaged in the fire. The exact number of buildings destroyed remains unclear, but Cal Fire said more than 12,000 structures remained threatened as of late Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the Thompson Fire. The state of emergency allows a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be secured in order to provide crucial resources to the area. The grant is provided through a federal disaster relief fund and could provide federal funding for up to 75% of firefighting costs.
Local emergencies were also declared this week at the county and city levels as the fire was threatening critical infrastructure including water supply and power supply to the Oroville area. The California Office of Emergency Services also deployed additional fire and law enforcement resources to the Oroville area earlier this week.
Residents have been able to obtain free N-95 respirator masks to help deal with the poor air quality. The masks were being given out at the Department of Employment and Social Services at 78 Table Mountain Boulevard and Oroville Public Safety Facility at 2055 Lincoln Street, both in Oroville.
The Thompson Fire ignited Tuesday in the area of Cherokee Road and Thompson Flat Cemetery.
Eight firefighters have been injured, according to Cal Fire. The extent of their injuries is unknown.
One couple fought side-by-side with firefighters to save their home. They said the fire burned within feet of their porch and had mowed in anticipation of fire season.
A Camp Fire survivor was among volunteers providing free food, drinks and other resources to Thompson Fire evacuees in Oroville on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, CBS Sacramento captured images of a burned-down home on Canyon Drive in north Oroville.
In addition to the images captured by CBS Sacramento, several photos from Getty Images depict structures and cars engulfed in flames in Oroville.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Butte County has a history of destructive wildfires. In 2018, the Camp Fire almost completely destroyed the town of Paradise, killing 85 people and scorching more than 150,000 acres. It was the deadliest wildfire in California history.
Evacuation zones and shelters
Mandatory evacuation orders had been affecting tens of thousands of people near downtown Oroville east to Kelly Ridge and up north just past Cannon Reservoir. Despite several evacuation orders being lifted or downgraded Thursday, it was not yet clear how much that number dropped.
As of Thursday afternoon, mandatory evacuation orders remained in place for the area around the Oroville Dam stretching west to where the Feather River first turns south and north to where Oregon Gulch Road meets both Yadira Lane and Potters Ravine Drive. This area includes the following zones: part of 533, 534, 535, part of 536, 711, part of 716, part of 730, and part of 731.
Evacuation warnings remain in place for some of the immediate area around the southern mandatory evacuation zones. This includes areas just north of the Oroville city limits and east to the south end of the lake east of the dam. Warnings are also in place north of the mandatory evacuation zones along the west side of Lake Oroville just north of Canon Reservoir and west near Elsey.
Warnings are for zones 532, part of 533, part of 536, 700-710, 712-715, part of 716, part of 730, part of 731, 851, 953, 954, 959 and 960.
All other residents who were under any type of evacuation order can return home.
Several state water project facilities also remain under evacuation orders, including the Hyatt Powerplant facility and the Lake Oroville Visitor Center. The powerplant went offline as of Wednesday morning due to the de-energized powerlines shut off by Pacific Gas & Electric.
The evacuation shelter at the Oroville Church of the Nazarene at 2238 Monte Vista Ave. remains open. The shelter at the Gridley Fairgrounds at 199 E Hazel St. in Gridley closed Thursday.
An evacuation shelter for small animals has been set up at 2279 Del Oro Ave. in Oroville, with a shelter for large animals operating at the Camelot Equestrian Park at 1985 Clark Road in Oroville.
