Thompson Fire personnel, resources double after state of emergency declaration

(FOX40.COM) — What started as a local grassland fire led by CAL FIRE/ Butte County Fire, the Thompson Fire has now become a 1,438-personnel fire with hundreds of resources on hand.

Starting at 11:45 a.m. in the area of Cherokee Road and Thompson Flat Road as a 15-acre fire, the Thompson has rapidly spread to burn more than 3,000 acres in less than 24 hours.

As the sun rose on Wednesday on the shores of Lake Oroville, a little over 500 fire personnel and a few dozen pieces of heavy equipment were working hard to fight and contain the Thompson Fire.

Those numbers have now more than doubled after Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in Butte County and is allocating all available resources to Oroville.

Fire mapping by CAL FIRE shows the fire is burning on both side of the Feather River between Oroville Dam Road and Big O Road.

The fire has burned as far south as Sharlo Lane and north of the Cherokee Road and Oregon Gulch Road split.

Fire mapping shows that flames have reached along the shoreline of Lake Oroville near the Spillway Boat Launch Parking area.

As of 9:02 a.m., there is 1,438 personnel battling back the flames with assistance from 199 fire engines, 49 water tenders, 46 dozers and 8 helicopters.

These nearly 1,500 firefighters have been brought to the Northern California community to help the some 13,000 residents that have been evacuated from the fire area and the thousands more that could be forced to evacuate.

There are around three dozen zones that have been forced to evacuate, according to the Butte County evacuation map.

Evacuation shelters have been established at Oroville Church of the Nazarene, 2238 Monte Vista Ave., Oroville and Gridley Fairgrounds, 199 E HAzel St, Gridley.

A large animal shelter has been established at the Camelot Equestrian Park, 1985 Clark Rd, Oroville. A small animal shelter has been established at 2279 Del Oro Ave, Oroville.

Air tankers from CAL FIRE have been dropping fire retardant on the fire’s perimeter. After nearly a day of combatting the fire, the City of Oroville declared a local emergency because of the “extreme conditions” the fire has imposed.

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CAL OES) has provided their Region 3 incident support unit to help with mobile command and enhance fire mapping capabilities, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.

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