California county faces new blaze after 2018 devastation of the Camp Fire

By Jay Croft, CNN

Northern California’s Butte County, the site of the state’s deadliest and most destructive inferno ever in 2018, is now battling another blaze.

The Dixie Fire has led county officials to issue evacuation warnings for residents.

It started Tuesday and has grown to about 2,200 acres with no containment, Cal Fire says.

The Camp Fire in Butte County started November 8, 2018, and burned a total of 153,336 acres, destroying 18,804 structures and resulting in 85 civilian deaths, Cal Fire said.

Last summer, Pacific Gas & Electric pleaded guilty to 85 counts, including involuntary manslaughter and unlawfully starting the Camp Fire.

Other fire dangers in the area

Doyle, a small town in another Northern California county, has been ravaged by a wildfire for the second time in less than a year.

California’s fire season has already seen more than three times as much land burned as during the same period last year, officials said. And the 2020 record was the worst ever, with some 4.1 million acres burned, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The Dixie Fire had claimed about 2,200 acres as of Wednesday night with no containment, according to Cal Fire. It is burning away from populated areas.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office issued an evacuation warning for the Pulga and East Concow areas. That means evacuations are encouraged for people who need extra time, or people with pets and livestock, says the state’s Office of Emergency Services.

The Dixie Fire and the Beckwourth Complex Fire in Plumas County have winds from the southeast of 8 to 14 mph with gusts up to 20 mph pushing smoke northeast, said CNN meteorologist Gene Norman.

Resident Desmond David told affiliate KOVR he has lost his home twice to wildfires. First, in 2008, then again in 2018 during the Camp Fire.

David said he is ready to leave at any moment, remembering how he barely made it out of the Camp Fire.

“When the winds come this way, then there’s a lot to worry about,” David said.

Daniel Bolds got an evacuation warning from the sheriff’s office and says people left his neighborhood for safety.

“Pay attention. If it scares you, back off. What else can you do?” he told KOVR.

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CNN’s Joe Sutton contributed to this report.