Wildfire Forces Evacuations In Butte County
PARADISE, Butte County (KCBS) -- A new wildfire is forcing evacuations near the town of Paradise in Butte County.
It's a reminder that we are just moving into the most dangerous part of California fire season.
"This is the time of year when we experience our most wildfires," Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant told KCBS.
The kids are back in school, but summer is far from over for California firefighters.
Berlant says the new Saddle Fire has burned more than 800 acres, forcing evacuations of a rural area south of Paradise.
"This is a very fast moving fire that's now burning on both sides of the west branch of the Feather River," Berlant said.
Five small fires have merged into one, with the cause not yet known.
Berlant says the Soberanes Fire in the Los Padres National Forest is 60-percent contained, but still going strong, while the big fires in Lake and San Luis Obispo counties are 100-percent contained but not completely out.
With the Diablo and Santa Ana winds of October still to come, Berlant says those firefighters aren't going home.
"Despite cooler temperatures that we've experienced over the past week, and the good progress we've made on several fire fronts, we still have over 5,000 firefighters battling five large wildfires in California," Berlant said.
