California city cancels Fourth of July fireworks show as firefighters battle flames amid heatwave

By Noah Berger John Antczak
Associated Press Press Agency

OROVILLE, Calif. — Officials in a Northern California community have canceled its annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as an estimated 26,000 residents were left homeless by a raging wildfire while hundreds of firefighters worked hard to contain the blaze. extreme heat to prevent the flames from spreading to more homes.

The Thompson Fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento, near the Butte County town of Oroville. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could seen from space grew to more than 5.5 square miles (14 square kilometers).

Oroville Mayor David Pittman said Wednesday there was a “significant decrease in fire activity” and expressed hope that some residents would be able to return home soon.

The fire’s progress was halted along the southern edge, and firefighters working in steep terrain were trying to build containment lines on the northern side. As of Thursday afternoon, containment was 7%.

“The north side is really challenging topography-wise,” Pittman said.

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Proper hydration of firefighters:
The time to think about hydration is now, not when you are engaged in strenuous activity.

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More than a dozen other fires, most of them small, were active across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CAL FIRE. A new blaze on Wednesday afternoon prompted brief evacuations in densely populated Simi Valley, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The state’s largest fire, the Basin Fire, scorched nearly 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County and was 26% contained.

In Oroville, state of emergency announced Tuesday evening and evacuation centers were set up. The evacuation zone expanded Wednesday to foothills and rural areas outside the city of about 20,000 people.

With the Fourth of July in mind, officials warned that fireworks are banned in many areas, including most of Butte County. They also cited ongoing evacuations and damage caused by Thompson Fire in favor of canceling the fireworks show in Oroville, for which a special permit had been issued.

California State Parks officials said in a statement that multiple agencies have a large number of resources responding to the fire and are making every effort to get everyone back home as quickly as possible.

“These agencies also have staff whose families were displaced by the evacuation. They continue to provide assistance to the Lake Oroville community,” the statement reads.

Authorities warn that any illegal use of fireworks will result in serious legal consequences.

“Don’t be an idiot, don’t set fires and cause us more problems,” said Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea. “Nobody in this community wants that.”

There was no immediate official report of property damage. An Associated Press photographer saw the fire engulf three adjacent suburban-style homes in Oroville.

The fire ignited grass twigs sticking out from the concrete edges. Lake Oroville as gusty winds tore at American flags lined up along the bend of the state’s second-largest reservoir and the tallest dam in the country.

Residents standing on hillsides watched an orange glow as planes sprayed water. A crew of more than a dozen firefighters saved one home when goats and other farm animals fled.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. At the time of the outbreak, there were critical fire weather warnings in effect.

“The conditions in our county this summer are very different than we’ve experienced in the last two years,” Garrett Sjolund, Cal Fire’s Butte County fire chief, said during a briefing. “The fuel is very dense, the brush is dry. And as you can see, any wind will move this fire very quickly.”

These conditions prompted utility company Pacific Gas & Electric to turn off the power in some areas of Northern California to prevent fires caused by broken or damaged wires.

Joshua Tree National Park officials in Southern California on Wednesday closed Covington Flats — the area that contains most of the park’s important Joshua tree populations — due to extreme fire risk after spring rains led to an increase in grass that has now dried out.