I am about 40 miles southwest of the Butte Fire which started just slightly over 48 hours ago east of Jackson, CA. I ask that you keep all of the residents and firefighters in the area in your thoughts and prayers. We have been faced with high temperatures (up to 106F) and this fire has exploded in size. Thursday morning it was 4,100 acres, Thursday evening it was 14,700 acres, this morning it was 31,974 acres, and I've just read that it was now 50,000 acres with only 10% contained (CalFire's web site seems to be having some problems but did just update). I don't believe many homes have been lost yet but this afternoon the town of San Andreas was under mandatory evacuation orders. My cousin near Jackson was under a mandatory evacuation order yesterday afternoon but said today her home is safe. The governor has declared a state of emergency due to the fire. Even from 40 miles away in the very early morning hours (3-5am) I could see the reddish clouds of smoke while out irrigating. I read yesterday that the firefighters were so busy protecting homes that they were unable to make efforts to contain the fire's spread. I don't recall ever hearing of a fire that has spread so quickly.
Current events seem to be most available at https://twitter.com/hashtag/ButteFire?src=hash
Attached is a photo I took at 4:21am this morning (bright lights are early morning commuters near my farm).
Current events seem to be most available at https://twitter.com/hashtag/ButteFire?src=hash
Attached is a photo I took at 4:21am this morning (bright lights are early morning commuters near my farm).
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