Thousands of residents in northern California have been ordered to evacuate as the state’s latest wildfire rips scorches thousands of acres north of Sacramento, and as an “exceptionally dangerous” heat wave tears through the state.
A property is engulfed in flames of California's Thompson Fire, which comes as forecasters warn ... [+]
The Thompson Fire has burned over 3,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, and is 0% contained, according to state officials.
Police in Butte County, California—roughly 75 miles north of Sacramento and 120 miles northeast of San Francisco Bay—issued an evacuation order for part of the city of Oroville, which has a population of roughly 20,000 as of the 2020 Census.
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte County on Wednesday, where as of Tuesday night, no structures have been destroyed and no citizens or firefighters have been killed, according to county officials—though photos of the fire have since shown it has burned multiple buildings.
The fire is the latest to scorch California, where officials have already reported over 2,800 wildfires this year, burning a collective 134,000 acres and destroying or damaging 74 structures—the latest, the Basin Fire in Fresno County, has burned nearly 14,000 acres since it took off last week, and is at only 26% containment.
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Flames consume a garage as the Thompson Fire burns in Oroville, California, north of Sacramento.
The Thompson Fire burns along Lake Oroville, as it spreads to over 3,000 acres.
A helicopter drops water on the Thompson Fire as it burns above Lake Oroville.
Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate in the city of Oroville, which had a population ... [+]
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte County.
A goat runs beside a building as flames from the Thompson Fire approach Oroville.
The Thompson Fire also coincides with northern California’s first major heat wave of the year, which the National Weather Service warns will bring “dangerous” temperatures to the state over the week, with a projected high of 111 degrees Fahrenheit in the city of Chico on Wednesday, 110 on Thursday and 115 on Friday.
While the Thompson fire has already become one of the most destructive wildfires in the U.S. this year, it’s far from the biggest. Last month, New Mexico’s South Fork fire scorched over 13,000 acres around the village of Ruidoso near the Mescalero Apache Reservation in just a matter of days, prompting widespread evacuations. The fire continued to grow in just days, reaching 16,000 acres (bigger than Manhattan) in less than a week, according to state officials. In February, the Smokehouse Creek fire in northern Texas burned over 1.1 million acres, making it the second biggest in U.S. history and the largest ever in Texas.
California has also seen its fair share of devastating wildfires in recent years as suburban development sprawls farther into areas prone to fires and as scientists warn hotter and drier conditions brought on by climate change extends the length and intensity of wildfire season. Last year, state officials reported over 7,100 wildfires in California, burning nearly 325,000 acres and killing four people, burning just less than in 2022 (331,358 acres) and well below 2021 (2.57 million). One of the most destructive recent wildfires in northern California came in 2018, when the Camp Fire burned over 153,000 acres, killing 85 people and ripping through the city of Chico, just northwest of the Thompson Fire.