Northern California wildfire does not grow, but winds and hot weather could whip up flames

OROVILLE, Calif. -- Crews made steady progress overnight against a Northern California wildfire that had thousands of people under evacuation orders, but wind gusts and continued hot temperatures Thursday could pose problems on a searing hot July Fourth, officials said.

The Thompson Fire near the city of Oroville in Butte County stayed roughly the same size and containment was 7%, the same as the previous night, said Kevin Colburn, information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

There were 17,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings, according to Kristi Olio, public information officer for Butte County. Previous reports of 26,000 people being under orders or warnings were inaccurate, she said, adding that the fire has unfolded so quickly that it has been difficult to get firm figures.

The Thompson Fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento, sending up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to more than 5.5 square miles (14 square kilometers).

Temperatures Thursday could hit 108 degrees (42 degrees Celsius) with even hotter weather expected Friday and Saturday, officials said.

“The winds are slowly picking up,” said Chris Peterson, another information officer for Cal Fire. “You add that with the heat and low humidity,” and the potential for volatile fire behavior grows.

Four structures were destroyed, and more than 12,000 were threatened. Cal Fire did not specify if the structures were homes, but an Associated Press photographer saw fire burn three adjacent suburban-style homes in Oroville.

Four firefighters reported injuries, all from heat. The cause of the blaze was being investigated.

Millions of people across the U.S. are baking in a heat wave including in California, which is seeing “significantly more wildfire activity at this point” than in recent years, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said in a statement.

More than a dozen other blazes, most of them small, are active across the state, according to Cal Fire. The largest of those, the Basin Fire in Fresno County, was nearly 50% contained with 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) burned.