Butte Fire Has Cal Fire Focused On Best Way To Protect Homes
CALAVERAS COUNTY (CBS13) — The Butte Fire has burned more than 71,000 acres and is 35 percent contained.
The fire has destroyed 135 homes, 79 outbuildings and four other structures, while 6,400 structures remain threatened.
Cal Fire says its priority is to protect homes, but not all of them can be saved. Fire crews decide which homes to stand guard at, and one homeowner is angry her house wasn't one of them.
It took seconds for a tree to ignite and for flames to shoot to the top. Fire engines left the road to instead guard houses.
Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Scott Polgar says some of the crews have to scale back vegetation and clean properties—work they say homeowners should have done.
"They have several pounds of flammable material up against their house. It takes time, effort, and manpower to mitigate the situation," he said.
Mountain ranch homeowner Terry Catanzarite says her home burned.
"We were at home and could see the smoke getting closer," she said. "We had been in the path of the fire all along. We started to see 50-foot flames in front of our house. I'm angry we were burned out shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday."
Cal Fire says dry ground and high winds make the path of the fire unpredictable and at times too dangerous for firefighters.
"When the fire is so hot, we can't put guys right next to that fire. We can't go what we call 'direct,'" Capt. Bud England said.
For their own safety, fire crews say they decide which houses to stay and protect.
"It's a judgement call for us," Polgard said. "Someone may have come in here and said this house is non defensible and had to back out."
