Butte County, Calif. – More than 1000 firefighters from across California are battling triple digit heat and steep terrain in an effort to contain the fast moving wall fire.
“They came driving by the mobile home park last night on the bullhorn telling everybody it was mandatory to leave,” said one resident. “So we left.”
Kyle Weed doesn’t know where he’ll sleep overnight. He’s one of more than 4,000 people ordered to evacuate the fire zone.
Another 3,400 have been advised to leave their homes. The mass exodus has caused traffic jams on the roadways.
The Wall Fire has destroyed at least ten homes east of Oroville, including one that burned to the ground, leaving only a chimney standing.
Late afternoon winds Sunday fanned the wall fire and whipped up the flames and that’s what fire fighters are most concerned about Monday.
CAL FIRE spokesperson Kyle Weed said, “After we have all that solar heating all those fuels are pre-heated to make the fire active again.”
That’s why CAL FIRE deployed two choppers over the weekend.
The military-grade Sikorsy helicopter is reloading up to 1,900 gallons of water in a lake near the fire zone while the smaller one is capturing about 750 gallons in a bucket to move over the hotspots and put them out.
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