🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Several areas of California's Butte County were put under evacuation warnings after the Dixie Fire enveloped 1,200 acres in less than one day.
The fire ignited Tuesday near the town of Paradise, and fire crews arrived to spray fire retardant and water over the blaze after it burned across two acres of vegetation, the Cal FIRE Butte Unit said. The fire's spread accelerated overnight, spreading to 60 acres and encompassing 1,200 acres within hours, Mercury News reported.
The Butte County Sheriff's Office included Pulga and East Concow in the evacuation warnings, but the blaze was burning entirely into Plumas County beyond populated areas, fire officials said. The cause of the fire is still unknown at this time, said John Gaddie, the Butte Unit fire captain.
Despite communities near the fire being spared from the blaze so far, Gaddie warned residents to stay alert to any updates and evacuation orders.
"I'm not saying where this fire is going to go, or how fast it's going to go, but be prepared," Gaddie said. "Please pay attention."
NorCal Air Operations has been providing air support for the fight against the Dixie Fire. The organization tweeted Wednesday afternoon that aircraft were making "good progress" on the fire because the Chico Air Attack Base is located five minutes away, facilitating a quick return and reload.
An earlier wildfire in 2018 nearly destroyed Paradise and killed 85 people making it the deadliest in California history. The Camp Fire was ignited by a transmission line from the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Despite the line being de-energized in 2019, two additional PG&E lines run through the area.
The cause of the Dixie Fire is still under investigation, according to John Gaddie, the Butte Unit fire captain, and it was not immediately clear whether the PG&E lines were linked to the fire's ignition. NorCal Air Operations tweeted Wednesday that it had requested that PG&E de-energize both sets of lines near the fire.
A PG&E spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement that it had de-energized the power lines, although they did not comment on whether the lines were linked to the fire.
The utility company did not appear to have filed an incident report with the California Public Utilities Commission by Wednesday afternoon, according to the PG&E website.
Newsweek has contacted PG&E for comment regarding the power lines and any potential link to the Dixie Fire. This story will be updated with any response.
About the writer
Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more