Fires in Chico

So many of you have already heard that there was a pretty big fire in Chico this past week. First of all, we are fine and completely on the other side of town. The air quality is not great, but we "townies" have not been worried about it spreading our way. The fire started on the East side of town that runs right into the foothills of the Sierras.

It started on Wednesday and I believe it could have been contained easily if it were not for some strong winds that day which truly made it spread like wildfire. The town further up the hill is called Paradise and they were also affected and on precautionary evacuation because the winds lasted 2 days and really put many homes in danger. I have a few friends that had to evacuate, fortunately none have lost their homes. At work we were to capacity as far as boarding animals because so many people had to evacuate and most of the hotels don't take pets. We are even boarding a guinea pig!

As of today, only 50% of the fire has been contained. The fire has burned 23,162 acres but has not burned any further acreage or homes since yesterday, according to CAL FIRE. It has taken 74 residences, 20 have been damaged, and eight outbuildings have been destroyed. There are 3,823 personnel fighting the fire from 68 fire crews with 520 engines, 53 water tenders, 47 bulldozers, four air tankers and four helicopters. This picture was taken near my work.