3 Dead, Thousands Ordered To Evacuate In Northern California As Bear Fire Spreads

Thousands of residents of three northern California counties were ordered to evacuate Thursday as over-extended fire crews worked to contain the Bear Fire, one of the two biggest fires in the North Complex series of wildfires.

Evacuation orders were issued for Butte, Yuba and Plumas counties overnight as the fires burned through parts of the Plumas National Forest and some surrounding towns. Cal Fire said around 200 structures were damaged or destroyed by the fire and 23,000 more were at risk. Butte County officials said at least three people have been killed and dozens more injured as local.

As of Thursday, the North Complex wildfires burned through 252,163 acres while crews contained 24% of the fire.

“We were rescuing people most of the night,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Sean Norman told reporters Wednesday. “We had several critical burn injuries of civilians we were able to rescue and bring into the fire station and then get them off the hill.”

The North Complex fires have proved to be one of the most difficult series of wildfires for crews to contain. By Monday, more than 40,000 acres had been destroyed and crews had contained more than 50% of the fire. However, the lingering weekend heatwave combined with dry weather caused it to explode overnight to 150,000 acres on Tuesday and since then have grown further.

Most of the other notable wildfires that began in August were all but contained, with the three biggest lightning fires more than 85% contained.

The Creek Fire ignited during the Labor Day weekend and rapidly grew to consume more than 175,000 acres by Thursday. Crews have been unable to make any headway against the blaze. Fire crews were stretched thin due to the sheer number of wildfires across northern California.