Three people were killed and several others were injured in a wildfire that quickly spread through Butte County Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, officials said.
Two people were found in the same location and the third person was found in another location, Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said Wednesday night. Investigators are working to identify the remains and notify relatives.
Several people were injured after being trapped by the Bear Fire during the overnight hours. Cal Fire Battalion Chief Sean Norman said firefighters were rescuing a lot of people.
“We were rescuing people most of the night. We had several critical burn injuries of civilians we were able to rescue and bring into the fire station and then get them off the hill,” Norman said.
Cal Fire said more than 100 people had to be rescued.
Honea said the sheriff’s office got 85 calls for welfare checks or attempt to locate. He said 73 people have been found safe, and investigators are working to locate the 12 others.
The Bear Fire, which is part of the North Complex Fire, flared up around 10 a.m. Tuesday due to strong northern winds, the U.S. Forest Service Plumas National Forest division said. The fire consumed more than 97,100 acres in the past 24 hours.
The North Complex Fire, which sparked mid-August from a lightning strike, has burned 252,163 acres and is 24% contained, as of Wednesday night. The wildfire ignited in Plumas County last month and then spread to Yuba and Butte counties after windy conditions Tuesday caused the blaze to flare up.
Cal Fire said about 200 structures have been destroyed or damaged. The fire is threatening more than 23,000 structures.
EVACUATIONS IN PLACE
The flare-up made the fire move in a southwestern direction, prompting evacuations in Plumas, Yuba and Butte counties, the Forest Service said.
Plumas County
- La Porte
- Little Grass Valley Reservoirs (including residents, campgrounds and recreational facilities off Little Grass Valley Road west of Quincy La Porte Road)
- Bucks Lake from Bucks Lake Road at the Plumas/Butte county line to Bucks Lake at Big Creek Road
Butte County
- You can use this map to show where active evacuation orders are for Butte County.
Yuba County (evacuees will not be able to travel north from Yuba County)
- Clipper Mills
- Along the northern Yuba County border from Strawberry Valley to Forbestown and south to Rackerby and Brownsville-Challenge all the way over the upper portion of Bullards Bar Reservoir
Evacuation Centers
- Gridley Fairgrounds, located at 199 E. Hazel Street in Gridley
- Dobbins Alcouffee Center, 9185 Marysville Road in Oregon House
- Yuba Sutter Fairgrounds, 442 Franklin Ave., Yuba City
BATTLING THE BLAZE
The wildfire is expected to continue burning into Wednesday night due to poor relative humidity recovery, the U.S. Forest Service said.
“Where open line exists, expect active fire behavior to include uphill runs and short range spotting. The potential for very active to extreme fire behavior exists where slope and wind align,” USFS said in an incident update.
Overnight, crews were working hard to battle large flames.
“It was a long night. We battled in here all night. We had about a 15-mile wide firefront come down into all of these communities. We had, at times, 200-foot wall of fire come through here,” Norman said Wednesday. “[It] destroyed a lot of homes here, trapped a lot of people.”
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