Wildfire, Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley
- When
- November 8, 6:33 AM PST to November 25, 3:00 PM PST
- Where
- Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley forecast zone
- Deaths
- 86 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 12 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $17 billion
- Reported by
- Fire Department/Rescue
The Camp Fire began on the morning of November 8, 2018, by Camp Creek Road, near Pulga in Butte County. The fire was not fully contained until November 25. This fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, destroying much of the city of Paradise, the community of Concow, and damaging the towns of Pulga and Magalia. There were 18,804 structures destroyed, 13,696 of them single homes, along with 514 commercial structures and 3,718 outbuildings and 153,336 acres burned. There were a total of 86 deaths from the fire, with 12 civilians and 5 firefighters injured. There were 3 people missing as of 1/24/2019, when Butte County Sheriff closed their missing persons call center for the Camp Fire. Damage costs to insured buildings has been estimated to be at least $10 billion. |Conditions which lead to this fire included several recent years with drought conditions, late spring rainfall bringing additional growth of grass for fuel, dry weather for seven months prior to the fire, very low humidity due to several north wind events, record dry fuel and gusty northeast winds the day of the fire. Local wind gusts to 40 to 50 mph were measured nearby at Jarbo Gap, with a peak gust in the early morning of 52 mph. These winds caused the fire to spread very quickly. The fire forced the rapid evacuation of over 27,000 people from Paradise, Magalia, Centerville, Concow, Pulga, Butte Creek Canyon, Berry Creek and Yankee Hill. The fire also threatened the communities of Butte Valley, Chico, Forest Ranch, Helltown, Inskip, Oroville, and Stirling City. All residents were not allowed to return home until December 15, when the final evacuation orders were lifted. |Smoke from the fire was dense at times across much of Northern California, concentrated by strong atmospheric inversions. Air quality was reported by the Air Resources Board as some of the worst on record, causing many schools to close and events to be canceled across the area. Visibility was below 1/2 mile at times.|The cause of the fire is under investigation, though there evidence suggests it occurred near damaged power lines.