OROVILLE, Calif. — One more victim in the North Complex West Zone fire has been identified.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea identified the victim as 76-year-old Susan Zurz.
Zurz's remains were found with Philip Rubel, 68, and Millicent Catarancuic, 77, according to Honea.
Honea said though the group was preparing to evacuate, they stayed because they believed erroneous information that the North Complex fire was 51% contained. The sheriff said he wasn't sure from where they got that information.
According to Cal Fire officials, 727 homes were destroyed and 34 were damaged in the North Complex fire. Officials said 51 commercial buildings were destroyed and 34 were damaged.
The North Complex West Zone is 78,750 acres and is 40% contained. The North Complex fire in its entirety is 284,750 acres and is 40% contained.
5:30 p.m. update:
The Butte County Sheriff's Office is reducing an evacuation order to an evacuation warning. The warning applies to the area of Highway 70 from the West Branch Bridge north to Pulga Road, east to the north fork of the Feather River, and the communities of Yankee Hill and Big Bend Road.
"Residents in the warning area may return to their homes but are advised to remain alert to further updates and warnings," BCSO said in a tweet.
4:20 p.m. update:
36 members of CA-TF7 from Sacramento have been deployed to Butte County to fight the fire in the North Complex West Zone.
CA-TF7, which stands for California Urban Search and Rescue - Task Force 7, is one of 28 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams and one of 8 in California. The task force responds to the nations search and rescue emergencies.
These 36 team members are from different agencies, including some from the Sacramento Fire Department.
3:30 p.m. update:
Cal Fire will host its usual 6:01 p.m. press conference via Facebook Live.
The live stream will also allow for the community to ask questions, posted right into the comments section of the video.
The smoke outlook for the Eastern Sierra region is still unhealthy, though projections suggest that Friday, people will experience slightly better air quality.
Plumas National Forest says, "Smoke and air quality conditions today will be similar to yesterday trending toward less smoke in the afternoon due to the increase in southwest winds."
2:30 p.m. update:
Cal Fire Butte's Thursday operations updates give a glimpse into how firefighters will tackle the North Complex West Zone Fire for the remainder of the day and into the night.
Cal Fire has been receiving some help from federal partners in the northernmost part of the West Zone. Crews have been building hand lines around the perimeter of the fire, down towards Feather Falls. They continue to try to mitigate any threats along that line.
Cal Fire also said that "excellent progress" has been made in the Berry Creek area. Fire crews are getting into the "mop up" stage, in which they look at hazards such as downed power lines and trees.
Forbestown is the challenge right now, as steep terrain makes the fire fight difficult for those on the ground. However, Cal Fire says some good lines were made last night in that area.
Cal Fire also shared a video of Director Chief Thom Porter visiting crew members of SugarPine Crew 6 and two Fire Captains who are battling the North Complex Fire.
1:00 p.m. update:
A map from Cal Fire shows the crossover of the North Complex Fire into areas ravaged by the 2018 Camp Fire.
As the North Complex continues to spread, it has begun to encroach on the Camp Fires burn scars. In addition, families who lost everything in the Camp Fire are seeing the same dismal destruction of new homes and properties in the North Complex Fire.
11:30 a.m. update:
Butte County's Search and Rescue team has been putting in the hours to make the North Complex West Zone safe.
The donor-funded group has shared photos from the ground near Oroville.
10:00 a.m. update:
New mandatory evacuations were ordered for Meadow Valley in Plumas County, specifically from the Bucks Lake Summit, east to Snake Lake Road at Meadow Valley. This evacuation order includes the entire community of Meadow Valley with Tollgate included.
Officials are urging people to leave immediately and to not wait.
An emergency center is being set up at Springs of Hope Church located at 59 Bell Lane, Quincy.
A call center for people without access to internet has been opened for people to receive updates on the status of evacuations in certain areas.
Member of the Community Emergency Response Team will also be able to look up damage maps for those without access.
The center will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The number to reach the call center is (530) 552-3010.
Original story:
Firefighters continue to make good progress in battling the blaze from the North Complex and North Complex West Zone fires.
In Cal Fire's latest incident report, it notes that the fire remained active overnight in the steep and rugged terrain of Onion Valley. Spot fires were also an issue, especially in the North Zone, where the largest spot fire is currently 200 acres.
The lightning-started fire that has been burning since Aug. 17, 2020, currently sits at 36% containment and has since burned 280,775 acres. The North Complex West Zone, formerly the Bear Fire, has burned roughly 77,950 acres and is 35% contained. Cal Fire reports aircraft had good visibility and were able to assist ground crews in the firefight. One firefighter has been injured, but the extent of the injuries have not been released.
There have been 15 fatalities due to the fire. Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea released the identities of 12 people killed in the fire. The released identities of victims are:
- Khawar Bhatti, 58 of Berry Creek
- Millicent Catarancuic, 77 of Berry Creek
- Josiah Williams,16 of Berry Creek.
- John Butler, 79, of Berry Creek
- Sandra Butler, 75, of Berry Creek
- Jorge Hernandez-Juarez, 26, of Berry Creek
- Philip Rubel, 68, of Berry Creek
- Jacob Albright, 74, of Feather Falls
- Paul Winer, 68, Berry Creek
- Randy Harrell, 67, of Berry Creek
- Kin Lee, 61 of Berry Creek
- Mark Delagardie, 61 of Berry Creek
As of Thursday morning Sept. 17, 1,142 buildings have been reportedly destroyed or damages. Cal Fire has released a map of damaged and destroyed structures due to the North Complex and North Complex West Zone fires.
National Interagency Fire Center live map of the fire's location (it might take a few seconds for the fires to show up on the map):
Multiple roads in areas surrounding the fires are still closed.