The Camp Fire that is burning in the Paradise area of Butte County has now covered more than 100,000 acres and is 20 percent contained. Nine people have died. Officials are now saying that strong northeast winds Saturday night could move the fire to Oroville.
Kevin Tidwell is a public information officer with Cal Fire’s Butte County unit. He spoke with NSPR on Saturday morning.
“We’re still expecting extreme fire behavior and dangerous rates of spread,” he said. “This wind event would be similar to the wind conditions to when the fire first started.”
Winds are expected to pick up after 8 p.m. Tidwell said Cal Fire is starting to prepare for the weather conditions so they can try to hold their containment.
“We have crews all around the perimeter of the fire working to start securing lines, start increasing containment and start preparing for that wind event,” he said.
Tidwell said the fire is holding to the southwest near Chico and south of Highways 99 and 149.