New and immediate evacuation orders were issued Sunday evening for Butte County residents near the North Complex Fire’s West Zone — in areas that were devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire. Warnings were also issued late Sunday for the town of Paradise, which saw the most damage two years ago.
The evacuation orders, issued just before 9 p.m. by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, were for the areas of Pulga, Concow, Big Bend and Yankee Hill. Warnings were also issued in Stirling City and Magalia, and for homes on Clark Road from the Paradise town limits south to Highway 70, east to Lake Oroville. That included Pentz Road from the Paradise town limits south to Highway 70. Updates from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office are available on its Facebook page.
At 10:15 p.m., Paradise issued a warning for the town: “An evacuation warning means residents should prepare to evacuate. An evacuation order means residents should evacuate immediately,” Paradise town officials said in a social media post. “If you feel you need to evacuate, please do so. If you feel unsafe, please take action, do not wait for an evacuation order or warning to do so.” Updates from town officials are available on Facebook.
Real-time map of wind gusts in Butte County
Those areas were among the communities damaged in the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and was the most-destructive wildfire in state history.
A large animal shelter will open at 7:30 a.m. at Camelot Equestrian Park, 1985 Clark Road. Residents who need more information are urged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 833-512-5378.
The Plumas County Sheriff’s Office also issued evacuation orders for a portion of the Feather River Canyon from the Plumas-Butte county line east to Tobin. This includes the communities of Tobin and Storrie.
“You should leave the area immediately,” the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a message on Facebook “Evacuees should evacuate east via Highway 70. If you remain, emergency personnel may not be able to help you.”
Updates from the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office are available on its Facebook page.
The blaze stayed within containment lines for the second consecutive day Sunday, but as night fell and winds began to kick up, areas along the West Zone’s northern edge — precariously close to the Feather River Canyon — were kicked up by winds.
Wind gusts in Concow, which is about 11 miles west of the flames, were observed from the northeast at 45 mph around 9:30 p.m. The active fire remains several miles east Pulga, the Feather River and Highway 70.
“This is extremely hard to say, but within past hour Butte County and Sonoma County officials have both issued nighttime emergency evacuation orders for some of the same areas previous burned by the Tubbs Fire in 2017 and Camp Fire in 2018,” said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain, referring to the evacuations in the West Zone as well as the Glass Fire buring near St. Helena. “Please be vigilant tonight.
The North Complex, which ignited by lightning in mid-August, has chewed through 305,881 acres (477.9 square miles) after soaring in size earlier in September, when gusts in excess of 45 mph caused what was then known as the Bear Fire — now designated as the West Zone of the North Complex — to jump the Middle Fork of the Feather River.
The West Zone killed 15 Butte County residents in towns just north and northeast of Lake Oroville during that devastating run, which prompted urgent evacuation orders Sept. 8 overnight into Sept. 9. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office on Friday morning identified the 15th victim as a 71-year-old Berry Creek woman.
Of the 15 confirmed deaths, 13 were Berry Creek residents and two lived in Feather Falls a few miles away. Officials now say the West Zone has destroyed about 2,342 structures, many of them homes.
Ahead of the strong winds this weekend, PG&E deliberately shutoff power to several portions of Butte County, among others in Northern California, after forecasters issued a red flag warning and predicted gusts could approach 55 mph.
As of 9 p.m., about 10,000 customers of PG&E in the area, including Magalia and Paradise, were in the dark as part of the so-called Public Safety Power Shutoff.
Wind gusts at those speeds have the potential to boost the spread of existing wildfires as well as any new ones that may ignite.
North Complex West Zone, Butte and Plumas counties
In the two weeks since the West Zone erupted, calmer weather conditions have assisted crews of at times more than 3,000 firefighters working to contain the North Complex, allowing for good progress. However, thick smoke — from the North Complex itself and blowing in from other fires, including the August Complex — has periodically made visibility in the area too poor for aircraft to support ground operations.
The West Zone of the fire complex is reported at 84,595 acres and is 78% contained, Cal Fire’s Butte Unit said in a Sunday morning update. About 10,000 structures are still considered at risk.
Butte County sheriff’s officials continue to gradually downgrade or lift evacuation orders and warnings due to the North Complex. Authorities on Thursday evening reduced an order for the area surrounding Foreman Creek Recreation Area, along Highway 162 from the Canyon Creek Bridge to Whispering Chapel Lane, to a voluntary warning. Evacuation maps and more detailed information are available at the Butte County Sheriff’s Office website.
The North Complex, altogether, is the fifth-largest wildfire in recorded California history, dating to the start of reliable record keeping in 1932.
