Dixie fire explodes, prompts evacuation warnings in area of Camp fire

Evacuation warnings were issued Wednesday as firefighters struggle to gain control over a new fire on the border of Butte County, a community hard hit by the deadly 2018 Camp fire and last summer's North Complex fire.

The Dixie fire began as a small vegetation fire Tuesday in the Feather River Canyon near Highway 70. It was originally held to under 2 acres. But the fire exploded in size on Wednesday morning, growing to 500 acres by 8:30 a.m. and to 1,200 acres by 9:45 a.m.

Cal Fire said in a morning update that the fire, which has 0% containment, is burning on the edge of Butte County, but is expanding north into Plumas County away from populated areas. Officials have put in a "large resource order" to fight the fire, and said they were being hampered by non-fire personnel using drones in the area.

Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly, who represents the area, said that so far, the fire is burning on private timber lands and the winds are pushing it away from population centers toward national forest lands.

The Camp fire's burn scar stands between the fire and homes.

"Everything's pretty much burned between them and the fire," he said. "Some bushes and grass have grown back, but it's probably not a direct threat at this time."

Nonetheless, he urged local residents to closely monitor Cal Fire and local emergency agencies to be ready to evacuate.

The Dixie fire sparked on the border of Plumas and Butte counties, just northeast of the site of the Camp fire, which burned over 150,000 acres and became California's deadliest fire of all time.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office issued evacuation warnings Wednesday morning for Pulga and East Concow. Both towns were ravaged by the Camp fire in 2018.

That fire killed at least 85 people, though an investigation by the Chico Enterprise-Record found at least 50 other deaths that were likely attributed to the blaze.

The Camp fire was caused by electrical transmission lines operated by Pacific Gas and Electricity. The cause of the Dixie fire is so far unknown.

Paul Moreno, a spokesman for PG&E, said Wednesday morning that the company had de-energized several lines in the area of the Dixie fire, leaving 10,000 Plumas County residents without power for a number of hours Wednesday. Power was restored to all customer at 2 p.m., and PG&E crews continue to stay at the fire to support firefighting crews, Moreno said.

Last summer's lightning sparked North Complex fire also ravaged Butte County, burning the entire town of Berry Creek and killing at least 16 people.

Megan Brown, a sixth-generation rancher with lands in Butte and Plumas counties, got an evacuation alert on her cellphone Wednesday morning.

The alert brought terrifying chills. She's suffered through three major fires since the 2017 Cherokee Fire.

"It's stressful, and it's kind of reliving the Camp fire," she said. "So we're definitely paying attention."