Tens of thousands of people in northern California have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires intensify across the state during a heatwave. Approximately 28,000 residents were under evacuation warnings or orders on Thursday due to the Thompson fire, which ignited two days earlier, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).
The extreme heat, with temperatures forecasted to reach 118°F (47°C) in some areas, is expected to persist until early next week. So far, no fatalities have been reported, but 74 structures statewide have been either destroyed or damaged this fire season.
In response to the fire risk, the city of Oroville, near the origin of the Thompson fire, canceled its 4th of July fireworks celebration. “The last thing we need is somebody who’s purchased fireworks from a local fire stand going out and doing something stupid,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. “Don’t be an idiot, cause a fire and create more problems for us.”
Sheriff Honea noted that the region has experienced four fires in the past couple of weeks, emphasizing that the threat is ongoing. “This is a bad fire season,” he remarked.
As of Thursday evening, the Thompson Fire was 7% contained, with nearly 2,000 crew members battling the flames. At least four individuals have been injured, though the severity of their injuries is unknown.
California’s fire season, which typically runs until October, has seen an increase in the size and intensity of fires in recent years. From 1996 to 2021, the area burned during the summer in northern and central California quintupled compared to the previous 24 years, a change attributed to human-caused climate change.
This week, the National Weather Service issued excessive heat and red flag warnings across the state, highlighting the major to extreme risk of heat stress or illnesses due to the hot, dry, and windy conditions.
Since the last week of June, around two dozen fires have burned more than 10 acres each across the state, with the largest fire in Fresno County covering nearly 14,000 acres. In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte County to provide additional resources.
The Thompson fire began in Oroville, about 70 miles north of Sacramento, on Tuesday. The city is approximately 20 miles from Paradise, which was devastated by the Camp Fire in 2018, resulting in 85 deaths. The region has faced recurrent fires in subsequent years.
CalFire spokesman Robert Foxworthy told the BBC that the fire’s growth had slowed due to lighter wind speeds, but the intense heat, predicted to hit 110°F (43°C) on Thursday, remained the “biggest factor” affecting firefighters.
Two days after the fire started, many residents were still unable to return to their homes. Brittanie Hardie, a Louisiana native who recently moved to California, told the San Francisco Chronicle that she had only the clothes she was wearing when her girlfriend evacuated their apartment. “I knew wildfires were bad in California, but I didn’t know it was this bad,” Hardie said.
Oroville City Council member Shawn Webber posted a video on Facebook showing smoking hillsides on both sides of a road and expressed gratitude to firefighters for preventing further destruction.
California’s state parks system noted that agencies responding to the fire also have employees with displaced families who are tirelessly assisting the Lake Oroville community.
