Deadly Camp Fire consumes 100,000 acres; 9 killed, dozens still missing

Nov. 10--The Camp Fire roaring through Butte County is already the most destructive fire in California history, killing at least nine people, consuming 100,000 acres and destroying nearly 7,000 structures -- in its first 48 hours.

And with heavy winds and no rain forecast for Saturday night and similar conditions expected to last through Monday, officials fear the historic blaze is far from finished with its ruinous path.

"Dry, dry, dry conditions," said National Weather Service forecaster Johnnie Powell. "That's what's making this super unusual."

Typically, Powell said, the region sees more rain in the fall, but this year has been especially dry, creating the perfect conditions for fire to spread. There may be "a hint of rain" the week of Thanksgiving, Powell said, but until then firefighters are working under tough conditions.

And while air crews tried to take advantage of calmer winds Saturday to attack the deadly blaze burning near the town of Paradise, about 100 miles north of Sacramento, the fire was just 20 percent contained and spreading on two fronts, to the north toward Stirling City and south toward Lake Oroville, home to the nation's tallest dam.

In February 2017, more than 180,000 residents were evacuated from the region near the Oroville Dam when a damaged emergency spillway threatened to release a 30-foot wall of water into nearby communities after a winter of heavy rains. Dam officials frantically shored up the spillway and lowered the lake levels to avoid a catastrophe.

Now, construction operations at the Oroville Dam spillways and nearby Thermalito have been shut down until further notice because of the fire, said Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Water Resources. The department is wetting down areas potentially at risk of catching fire with water trucks and placing backup generators in key locations to prepare for the possibility of a power outage or the loss of power lines. Some workers have lost their homes in the blaze already, and the department was drawing up staffing plans to continue managing water storage and delivery operations remotely in case the Oroville field division staff and facilities are evacuated.

"It's just an awful thing to see happen year after year," Mellon said of California's recent rash of deadly wildfires.

Cal Fire spokesman Kevin Tidwell said strong wind gusts Saturday night could create the potential for the fire to jump the lake and reach the city.

Darvis McCoy retired from the Santa Clara Valley Water District a few years ago and moved to Oroville.

"Getting a little tired of this," McCoy said Saturday as he prepared to evacuate for the third time in less than two years. "My wife is back at the house now packing and I told her don't bother making the beds in case we lose the house."

Already, the Camp Fire has forced thousands of people from their homes. On Saturday, the blaze was still threatening some 15,000 structures, and dozens of people are reportedly still missing.

Marie Wehe's family was desperate to hear from their loving grandmother after she was last seen leaving her home in the tiny town of Concow, just west of where the fire started, in a gold 2000 Chevy Silverado with disabled plates.

"The neighbor thankfully told my grandma to get out, as it was at her back fence. But we don't know if she made it out because we have not gotten a call or anything. We think she is stuck in there or didn't make it," said her granddaughter, Rosemary Flansaas.

Paradise, just days ago home to about 26,000 residents, has been reduced to charred rubble. Few structures remain standing. On Saturday, fire crews and PG&E workers fanned out across the town, combing through ashes, looking in burned out cars and checking power lines. Old Town Plaza, a popular shopping center, was destroyed. A home for disabled people on Ripley Lane was in ruins, save for a fireplace and chimney, abandoned wheelchairs left behind. Just east of town, the historic Honey Run Covered Bridge -- one of the last surviving bridges of its kind -- was gone.

"We are used to fires that we can control at breaks or towns. Not this time," said Oakland Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Lipp, who is part of a task force that helps fight fires around the state. "I cannot imagine fully how difficult this is for residents. Usually, the towns remain, and that is where people turn for refuge and mental recovery. Where do they go when even the city and services and meeting places are gone?"

Brad Weldon, who had his ailing blind 90-year-old mother at his home, decided to stay in Paradise and battle the flames licking at his home himself.

"It was like fighting an elephant with a piece of spaghetti," Weldon said. "We were fighting with a garden hose."

His home survived. But on Saturday, Weldon -- searching for gas to run his generator -- was warned by law enforcement he wouldn't be let back into his neighborhood if he went too far.

Michiel McCrary, who also stayed in his house off Skyway in Paradise, said his home was enveloped by walls of flame on three sides Thursday morning.

"It was bad," McCrary said. "It was real bad."

After a sleepless night fighting the fire, his house also survived.

"We just did everything we could," he said.

In nearby Magalia, Cindy Seeley and about 30 other residents, with their dogs and cats, rushed to safety in the Magalia Pines Baptist Church. Fire resistant and protected by firefighters, the church and its refugees survived while flames burned around it.

"Doors were wide open for anybody and everybody to come," Seeley said. "Everybody shared. It was a safe haven. We knew the building was safe. When the flames came around, they told everybody, 'You got to stay put -- no opening or closing doors.'"

Not everyone has been so lucky. So far, 6,453 homes have been destroyed and the fire has scorched an area three times the size of San Francisco. At least nine bodies have been recovered -- five of them from vehicles as they tried to escape the blaze -- and the death toll is expected to climb as dozens are still unaccounted for.

Around 3,200 Cal Fire crews, firefighters from across California and out of state are battling the inferno "all over the perimeter doing different tasks," Tidwell said.

Smoke as thick as fog still lingered on the streets of Chico Saturday and wafted over the Bay Area, rendering air quality unhealthy.

The U.S. National Weather Service issued Red Flag Warnings, which tell firefighters and land management agencies where conditions are ripe for fire combustion, across much of California over the weekend. San Mateo County closed Huddart and Wunderlich parks because of the fire danger.

California State University Chico suspended classes through Nov. 26. All Butte County schools will be closed through Friday, Nov. 23.

In Southern California, the Woolsey and Hill fires have forced more than 250,000 people in Los Angeles and Ventura counties to flee their homes, destroying Malibu mansions and houses built deep into canyons in the area.

Despite the terror still shaking so many parts of the state, President Trump took to Twitter Saturday morning to blame poor forest management for California's fires, writing, "Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!" The comment drew immediate ire, with many on social media pointing out the federal government maintains the vast majority of California forests and arguing that climate change is the real culprit.

"Lives have been lost," Governor-elect Gavin Newsom responded. "Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up."

Staff Photographers Jane Tyska and Randy Vazquez contributed reporting.

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