Humbodlt Fire Suppression $1.2 M and Growing

Reduced to ashes: 52 structures lost

Firefighters got their first look Friday at structures lost in the Humboldt Fire, but few if any residents still under an evacuation order in the worst-hit areas knew if their homes survived.

Flames raced through neighborhoods on either side of the town limits in south Paradise Thursday afternoon, taking homes on several streets around Neal and Wayland roads.

The fire later moved about four miles down Clark Road, reportedly destroying a few homes in Butte Valley, just north of Butte College. A ring of flames singed the perimeter of the campus much of Thursday night, but no buildings were damaged.

Durham Pentz Road was closed, but the fire was held to the north side of the roadway.

Late Friday night, officials said nearly 23,000 acres had burned. The number of structures destroyed, most believed to be homes, stood at 52.

The cost of fighting the fire was estimated at more than $1.2 million Friday night. The figure doesn't include losses to private and public property.

At least 2,500 firefighters and just under 400 engines were on the lines Friday, with personnel coming from as far away as Nevada and San Diego.

While containment on the fire only rose from 15 percent Thursday to 16 percent Friday, Cal Fire-Butte County spokeswoman Janet Upton said some good progress was made.
Doe Mill Ridge was the exception, where several flare-ups Friday pushed flames into unburned vegetation. The activity prompted a voluntary evacuation order for Centerville Road above Cable Bridge Drive.
Upton said it was hoped down-canyon winds, expected Friday night, would push the flames back toward a burned area.

Evacuation orders remained in place Friday for Paradise residents living east of Clark Road, below Pearson Road. Residents east of Clark were allowed to return home, reducing the number of estimated evacuees from a high yesterday of about 9,000 people.

More than 4,200 structures in the Paradise area remained threatened by the fire Friday, along with an estimated 800 commercial buildings, according to state officials.

While some media reported the death of an elderly woman in upper Paradise Thursday as fire related, officials said the connection between her death from an apparent heart attack and an evacuation order was tenuous. The woman reportedly lived 10 miles from the fire area.
Five firefighters have suffered minor injuries since Wednesday, and the command vehicle for one was heavily damaged Thursday by flames at Indian Valley and Neal roads.

Several roads, including Clark and Durham-Pentz, were opened Friday to two-way traffic. The Skyway was also opened, but conditions forced it to close intermittently.
Neal and Honey Run roads remained closed throughout Friday.

The Humboldt Fire started around noon Wednesday just south of Old Humboldt Road. A two-acre fire when the first crew arrived, it grew to 6,000 acres by nightfall.

The destructive blaze prompted a massive public and private effort that saw several shelters opened for evacuees Thursday and Friday in Chico and Paradise.
Some hotels, as well as health clubs, churches and a high school, were offering free beds and food. Several organizations activated plans to rescue and shelter evacuated animals, and care for displaced people with special needs. Businesses around Chico donated food and other necessities.

Enloe Medical Center activated nurses and social workers to provide services for evacuees at the Neighborhood Church and Pleasant Valley High School in Chico.
Enloe also provided two ambulances and a van to transport evacuees, and delivered 39 hospital beds to a Chico rehabilitation center, which took in patients from an evacuated facility in Paradise.

Source: Chico Enterprise Record News