Camp Fire burns hundreds of homes in Northern California

Severe damage in Paradise, California

(UPDATED at 11:20 a.m. PST November 9, 2018)

The CBS station in Sacramento had this information Friday morning:

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office says at least five people have been found dead after the Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise on Thursday. Investigators found the five people in the area of Edgewood Lane in Paradise inside of cars. It’s believed the victims were overcome by the Camp Fire when they were in their cars. No identification of the victims was able to be made due to the burn injuries, deputies say.

Investigators have been working to confirm reports of fatalities due to the destructive fire. Anyone with missing loved ones are encouraged to check http://safeandwell.org.


(Originally published at 7:45 a.m. PST Nov. 9, 2018)

In the first 12 hours the Camp Fire burned 54,000 acres as it roared through Paradise, California destroying large sections of the city.

(To see all articles about the Camp Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click here.)

The wildfire started at 6:33 a.m. November 8. A mapping flight at 6 p.m. determined it had spread 15 miles to the southwest pushed by winds that at times in the higher elevations gusted to 65 mph out of the northeast. At 6 p.m. it had come to within two miles of Highway 99, but at 1:48 a.m. Friday a heat-sensing satellite found that it had neared the highway in at least two places and was approaching the outskirts of Chico.

map Camp Fire
The red line was the perimeter of the Camp Fire at 6 p.m. November 8. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 1:48 a.m. Nov. 9. Click to enlarge.

Fire officials are saying that hundreds of homes have burned but it could be days before accurate numbers are available.

Overnight the fire spread closer to Highway 70 on the east side, and on the west side it approached Highway 32 and moved through Magalia where heavy structure losses can be expected.

After sunrise Friday the fire was very active, as seen in the photo below.

camp fire smoke column
The Camp Fire, early Friday morning November 9, 2018. SJSU FireWeatherLab.

The Feather River Hospital was evacuated, but there are conflicting reports on the status of the facility. Some say it burned, others say one or more structures at the site burned but the main building is intact.

The mapping flight at 6 p.m. Thursday determined that the fire had burned over 54,000 acres, but the satellite data from 8 hours later showed that it had increased substantially since then, possibly as much as an additional 15,000 acres. CBS in Sacramento reported at 7:02 a.m. that a spokesperson for CAL FIRE said the fire had grown to about 70,000 acres.

Heavy concentrations of smoke are affecting areas southeast of the fire. To see a map for the prediction of the distribution of smoke and a satellite photo showing the smoke, click here.

On the southeast side of the fire the Jarbo Gap weather station recorded overnight wind speeds of 28 mph gusting to 44 with 18 percent relative humidity. Those conditions should continue through the morning in the higher elevations on the fire but the winds will decrease substantially in the afternoon.

Update at 10:49 a.m. PST November 9, 2018. We found the following map on InciWeb, but there does not appear to be any further information on the site about the Camp Fire.

Camp Fire map
Camp Fire map. Inciweb.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

9 thoughts on “Camp Fire burns hundreds of homes in Northern California”

  1. I’m Trying to find out if our families mobile home was destroyed. 5322 Edgewood. It’s a senior mobile park. Thank you for helping me. They are in ElkGrove

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    1. Hi. My husband lived in the same mobile home park, Canyon View Estates, 5322 Edgewood Lane. We lived at space number 3. Canyon View Estates on Edgewood Lane is in “Zone 13” (which you might need to know for for insurance or FEMA purposes). The sign for the entrance to the mobile home park was right on the corner of our front yard. We just saw a photo and got confirmation that ours along with the entire mobile home park of 14 units, are 100% completely gone. The photo of our home looks like just a big pile of crumpled paper, even though it was everything we owned in the world. I am so sorry for everyone’s loss as well. If you google “5322 Edgewood Lane Spc__ Camp Fire” if should pull up a mad for you. It will show little red homes in our mobile home park. Click on the house that was there’s and it will bring up a photo of the devastation and you can use that photo for insurance and FEMA purposes also.
      I hope this info is of help to you. May God bless your family.

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  2. ive got seven family members missing from the Magalia /Paradise areas,they got in their 15 pass van and were last seen picking up neighbors.havent been seen since.

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    1. Praying for the safety and good health of your family Mr. Kauffman.
      My family was also touched by this fire. They lost their homes and all contents as well as their vehicles, with exception of the SUV they escaped in . However, they are alive and safe now.
      God Bless Paradise and all the wonderful people that have suffered from this horrible event.

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  3. I remember sometimes you posted smoke plume maps. Is it still possible for you to access that information?

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