Oroville is no stranger to devastating fires, including the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and displaced nearly 50,000 others.
The Bear Fire of 2020 destroyed Thompson’s neighbors’ home.
“We’ve been through this so many times that it’s become a natural thing for us. Now we know what we have to do and we have to be cautious,” Thompson said.
Using a scanner app on her phone, Thompson listened to law enforcement officers as they decided to evacuate the area where her twin sister, Crystal Kehle, lived. So Kehle packed up her belongings and left for her sister’s home with her husband and father-in-law until an official evacuation order was issued. Butte County has also set up two evacuation shelters.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Butte County, saying, “California is using every available tool to combat these fires and will continue to support the impacted communities.”
In a statement Wednesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it approved federal funding Tuesday night to help battle the fires burning in California.
Fire Capt. Dan Collins of Cal Fire’s Butte County Fire Station said Thompson was not as aggressive as earlier deadly fires in the county. Collins said he was “very optimistic” about preventing Thompson from spreading, especially because Cal Fire activated an incident management team that brought more resources and people to the front lines.
“It helps us as a local fire department because it’s hard for us to handle a large incident like this,” Collins said.
The Thompson Fire is one of more than a dozen fires still burning in the state as a dangerous heat wave sweeps across the West ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. Extreme heat and the threat of wildfires have already impacted holiday plans, with California State Parks announcing the cancellation of Oroville’s fireworks celebration. The cities of St. Helena and Antioch have also postponed Independence Day plans.
Thompson said her family also decided to cancel their July 4 plans.
He said, “We told our family members that there is a lot of heaviness right now. We will not celebrate.”
A total of 2,934 wildfires have burned more than 139,500 acres in California this year alone.
