UPDATE
Jul 5, 2024 3:54 AM CDT
Thousands of people evacuated during a Northern California wildfire were allowed to return home Thursday afternoon as crews continued battling flames amid scorching heat, officials said. Containment of the Thompson Fire near the city of Oroville in Butte County also increased to 29% from 7%, the AP reports. The "vast majority" of the 17,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings were able to go home, said Kristi Olio, public information officer for Butte County. Previous reports of 26,000 people being under orders or warnings were inaccurate, she said, adding that the fire has unfolded so quickly that it has been difficult to get firm figures.
Jul 4, 2024 12:30 PM CDT
Officials in a Northern California community canceled an annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as an estimated 26,000 residents remained displaced by a growing wildfire, while hundreds of firefighters toiled under extreme heat to keep flames from reaching more homes. The Thompson Fire broke out before noon on Tuesday about 70 miles north of Sacramento, near the city of Oroville in Butte County, the AP reports. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to more than 5.5 square miles.
In Oroville, a state of emergency was declared Tuesday night and evacuation centers were set up. The evacuation zone expanded Wednesday into foothills and rural areas beyond the city of about 20,000 people. With July Fourth in mind, authorities warned that fireworks are banned in many places, including most of Butte County. Authorities also cited the ongoing evacuations and damage caused by the Thompson Fire for the cancellation of Oroville's fireworks show, which had been specially permitted.
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Authorities warned of full legal consequences for any illegal use of fireworks. "Don't be an idiot, cause a fire, and create more problems for us," Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said. "No one in the community is going to want that." More than a dozen other blazes, most of them small, were active across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. A new fire Wednesday afternoon prompted brief evacuations in heavily populated Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
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