Dixie Fire evacuation waring issued in Tehama County
Jul. 28—As the Dixie Fire continues to burn in Butte and Plumas counties, the Tehama County Sheriff's Office issued a press release stating the fire's incident command team in Chico had called for evacuation warnings in Tehama County along Highway 32 and Highway 36 to the Butte County line.
This is an evacuation warning only and is applicable to the areas of Highway 32, east to the Butte County line and Highway 36 at Highway 32, south to the Butte County line.
On Tuesday, CalFire/Tehama County Fire Chief Dave Russell reported to the Tehama County Board of Supervisors an update on the fire's behavior, current evacuation orders and warnings, and a fire forecast for the rest of the week.
"The fire still has the potential to impact Tehama County," he said. "But at this time it is still not in Tehama County. That is why an evacuation warning was issued and not an evacuation order."
Explaining the difference, he said a mandatory evacuation order requires people within the order area to leave immediately, while an evacuation warning is for people to be prepared to leave at a moments notice.
"This system is in place to avoid panic. Residents of the affected area should be prepared to evacuate if orders are issued," Russell said. "Residents are encouraged to monitor the news and weather reports for updated information."
Over the weekend, Russell added, his department sought volunteers to see what he could staff to assist if anything were to impact the Highway 36E corridor in the Deer Creek area.
"We had a great response for availability to put a plan in place for response if needed," he said.
As of Tuesday, the Dixie Fire, which started July 13 in the Feather River Canyon, had burned more than 240,000 acres, destroyed more than 31 structures and threatened hundreds more, many of them along the east short of Lake Almanor and the Greenville area.
Russell explained that due to the extreme dryness of the forests at this time, if a leaf or pinecone caught in a fire funnel was tossed and landed in another area there was 100 percent probability it would ignite and start another fire.
"That is how bad the dry conditions are right now," he added.
Russell said he is feeling confident that the work to contain the fire at this point is going in the right direction and sees the possibility that some evacuation orders may change as early as Friday or Saturday.
Additional updates and information can be found at the following links:
Tehama 211: https://211norcal.org/tehama/
Cal Fire: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/14/dixie-fire/
Tehama County Transportation Commission Geospatial Data: https://tehama.maps.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=a9c3ebafce0b4a36ad6031964fb5251f
