California’s Dixie Fire has destroyed more than 100 homes
CNN —
Two Northern California wildfires have destroyed dozens of homes, left people unaccounted for or injured and prompted additional evacuations Thursday – all in less than 48 hours.
The Dixie Fire – California’s largest active fire – has destroyed “well over 100 homes” and is on its way to damage more structures, Plumas County Sheriff Todd Johns said. He added that authorities are searching for four people who were unaccounted for in the area Thursday.
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A smoke plume from the River Fire, a wildfire near the Placer County is seen from 30 miles away in Auburn, California, U.S. August 4, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves
“What I am telling folks at this time is if a plume of smoke is anywhere near your direction and you’re still miles away from it, you need to prepare [to leave] even if you haven’t heard that you are under a warning,” Johns said.
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California Conservation Corps members from the Magalia Fire Camp on Thursday, Aug. 5, 2021, extinguish hot spots from the Dixie Fire that burned around Chester on Wednesday.
The massive blaze has already burned 361,812 acres and was 35% contained Thursday night, according to Cal Fire.
The historic town of Greenville in Plumas County has been nearly leveled to the ground. In the community’s commercial center at Main Street and State Route 89, nearly every business appeared to have collapsed or been gutted, with flames still flickering in the debris up and down the sides of both streets, video recorded Wednesday by storm chaser Brandon Clement showed.
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TOPSHOT – Firefighters work the scene as a home is engulfed in flames during the Dixie fire in Greenville, California on August 4, 2021. – The Dixie fire burned through dozens of homes and businesses in downtown Greenville and continues to forge towards other residential communities. Officials in northern California on August 4, 2021 warned residents of two communities in the path of the raging Dixie fire to evacuate immediately as high winds whipped the flames onwards. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The fire’s increased activity promoted officials to issue an additional evacuation order in Lassen County. The latest orders apply to areas north and east of Mountain Meadows Reservoir, according to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office.
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Flames from the Dixie Fire consume a pickup truck on Highway 89, south of Greenville, California, on Thursday, August 5.
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Operations Chief Jay Walter passes the historic Sierra Lodge as the Dixie Fire burns through Greenville, California, on Wednesday, August 4. The fire leveled multiple historic buildings and dozens of homes in central Greenville.
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Firefighters work at a Greenville home that was engulfed by the Dixie Fire on August 4.
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The Dixie Fire burns near Taylorsville, California, on July 29.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, and Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak tour an area destroyed by the Tamarack Fire in Gardnerville, Nevada, on July 28.
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Firefighter Brentt Call walks through a burned-over area of the Bootleg Fire near Klamath Falls, Oregon, on July 27.
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Cal Fire Capts. Tristan Gale, left, and Derek Leong monitor a firing operation in California’s Lassen National Forest on July 26. Crews had set a ground fire to stop the Dixie Fire from spreading.
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Firefighters try to reach a fire site in Quincy, California, on July 25.
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Volunteers sort clothing at a donation shelter for those affected by the Bootleg Fire in Bly, Oregon.
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Scott Griffin surveys his property, which was destroyed by the Bootleg Fire in Sycan Estates, Oregon.
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Flames consume a home as the Dixie Fire tears through the Indian Falls community of Plumas County, California, on July 24.
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People stand behind the fire line as flames from the Steptoe Canyon Fire spread through dry grass in Colton, Washington, on July 22.
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Plumes of smoke from the Dixie Fire rise above California’s Plumas National Forest, near the Pacific Gas and Electric Rock Creek Power House, on July 21.
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Firefighters walk near a wildfire in Topanga, California, on July 19.
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A firefighter does mop-up work in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, which has been struggling with the Bootleg Fire in Oregon.
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A car is charred by the Bootleg Fire along a mountain road near Bly, Oregon.
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Nicolas Bey, 11, hugs his father, Sayyid, near a donated trailer they are using after their home was burned in the Bootleg Fire near Beatty, Oregon.
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Firefighters extinguish hot spots in an area affected by the Bootleg Fire near Bly, Oregon.
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A bear cub clings to a tree after being spotted by a safety officer at the Bootleg Fire in Oregon.
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Firefighters work to protect Markleeville, California, from the Tamarack Fire on July 17. The Tamarack Fire was started by a lightning strike.
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The Tamarack Fire burns in Markleeville, near the California-Nevada border, on July 17.
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A member of the Northwest Incident Management Team 12 holds a map of the Chuweah Creek Fire as wildfires devastated Nespelem, Washington, on July 16.
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A cloud from the Bootleg Fire drifts into the air near Bly, Oregon, on July 16.
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Firefighters spray water from the Union Pacific Railroad’s fire train while battling the Dixie Fire in California’s Plumas National Forest on July 16.
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Horses climb a hillside that was burned by the Chuweah Creek Fire in eastern Washington.
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Fire from the Bootleg Fire illuminates smoke near Bly, Oregon, on the night of July 16.
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A firefighter battles the Bootleg Fire in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, along the Oregon and California border, on July 15.
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A firefighting aircraft drops flame retardant on the Bootleg Fire in Bly, Oregon, on July 15.
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Firefighters dig away at hot spots underneath stumps and brush after flames from the Snake River Complex Fire swept through the area south of Lewiston, Idaho, on July 15.
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Burned cars sit outside a home that was destroyed by the Chuweah Creek Fire in Nespelem, Washington.
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Evacuee Dee McCarley hugs her cat Bunny at a Red Cross center in Klamath Falls, Oregon, on July 14.
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An airplane drops fire retardant on the Chuweah Creek Fire in Washington on July 14.
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Operations Section Chief Bert Thayer examines a map of the Bootleg Fire in Chiloquin, Oregon, on July 13.
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Men hug a member of the Red Cross at a Bootleg Fire evacuation center in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
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Embers blow across a field as the Sugar Fire burns in Doyle, California, on July 9.
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Firefighters monitor the Sugar Fire in Doyle, California, on July 9.
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In this long-exposure photograph, taken early on July 2, flames surround a drought-stricken Shasta Lake during the Salt Fire in Lakehead, California.
Approximately 80 miles south, the River Fire raging in Nevada and Placer counties has obliterated at least 76 structures and at least 20 structures have been damaged, according to Cal Fire’s Thursday night update. Damage assessment has not yet been finalized because inspectors are unable to access all affected areas as the fire grows.
Two residents and one firefighter have been injured in the fire, Cal Fire said, adding that more than 800 personnel are fighting the blaze.
In Placer County, nearly 2,400 people are under evacuation, Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Nelson Resendes said Wednesday. In Nevada County, at least 4,200 residents are under an evacuation order or warning, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said.
“If you receive an evacuation warning, please go. And if you receive an order, get out. Do not take your chances … We do not need you in there; you’re taking your life in your hands,” Placer County Sheriff Devon Bell said Wednesday at a news conference.
The blaze has swelled to 2,600 acres Thursday from 1,400 acres the previous day. Containment stood at 15% Thursday, up from zero on Wednesday.
“Firefighters took advantage of the cooler temperatures today and made good progress on building containment lines around the fire. A combination of additional hand crews, ground resources, and aircraft today, increased containment to 15% while keeping fire spread acreage to a minimum,” according to Cal Fire.
But fire officials warned there is a possibility of increased fire behavior Friday due to a “forecasted rise in temperatures and gusty winds.”
CNN’s Jason Hanna and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
