See photos of Northern California’s West Zone fire
By Sacramento Bee staff
Cal Fire says the North Complex West Zone, a renamed portion of the Bear Fire, has destroyed 2,000 buildings in Butte, Yuba and Plumas counties and is 0% contained as of Friday.
The death and devastation it caused earlier this week, as it swept through the foothill town of Berry Creek, was reminiscent of the horrifying Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise two years ago, just a few of miles to the north of this week’s fire.
Search crews are sifting through the ruins in the Berry Creek area, a hill town with an estimated population of 1,200 that was largely destroyed Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Homes were leveled, an elementary school burned to the ground and a summer camp for pediatric cancer patients and their families — which wasn’t occupied because of the COVID-19 pandemic — sustained major damage.
The California Highway Patrol said two victims were found Wednesday at Bald Rock and Greystone roads in Berry Creek, where one person was located inside a vehicle and a second was outside of the vehicle.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday seven more people were found dead in the fire zone. The discovery means 9 people have been killed in the fire. (On Friday, the number was revised lower by one.)
At least four people with critical burns were taken to the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, authorities said.
Fire officials also announced Thursday afternoon that two firefighters suffered minor injuries when their crew was overrun by fire Wednesday, forcing the firefighters to deploy emergency fire shelters. The incident is under review, Cal Fire said.
Flames lick above vehicles on Highway 162 as the Bear Fire burns near Oroville, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. Noah Berger AP
In this image taken with a slow shutter speed, embers light up a hillside behind the Bidwell Bar Bridge as the Bear Fire burns near Oroville on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. Noah Berger AP
Firefighters watch the Bear Fire approach near Oroville, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. Noah Berger AP
A home burns during the Bear fire, part of the North Lightning Complex fires in the Berry Creek area of unincorporated Butte County, California on September 9, 2020. Dangerous dry winds whipped up California’s record-breaking wildfires and ignited new blazes, as hundreds were evacuated by helicopter and tens of thousands were plunged into darkness by power outages across the western United States. JOSH EDELSON AFP via Getty Images/TNS
Flames shoot from a window as the Bear Fire burns through the Berry Creek area of Butte County, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. Noah Berger AP
Embers fly across a roadway as the Bear Fire burns near Oroville, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. Noah Berger AP
Smoke from the Bear Fire lingered over Lake Oroville in California on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington state have killed seven people, with fears more have died in towns destroyed throughout the West. MAX WHITTAKER NYT
Cal Fire contractors tend water in front of an empty business off Lumpkin Road as the Bear Fire burns nearby Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, in Butte County. Xavier Mascareñas xmascarenas@sacbee.com
A home on Sugar Pine Drive in Berry Creek was burned during the Bear Fire near Oroville on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the larger North Complex burning in Northern California, exploded in size Tuesday night and into Wednesday, forcing evacuation warnings and orders for at least 20,000 people in Butte County and reportedly inflicting widespread damage on the foothill community of Berry Creek. Jason Pierce jpierce@sacbee.com
Devastation is seen at Berry Creek Elementary School in Berry Creek, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, after it was destroyed by the Bear Fire overnight. The blaze, part of the larger North Complex burning in Northern California, exploded in size Tuesday night and into Wednesday, forcing evacuation warnings and orders for at least 20,000 people in Butte County and reportedly inflicting widespread damage on the foothill community of Berry Creek. Jason Pierce jpierce@sacbee.com
A home on Sugar Pine Drive in Berry Creek was burned during the Bear Fire near Oroville on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the larger North Complex burning in Northern California, exploded in size Tuesday night and into Wednesday, forcing evacuation warnings and orders for at least 20,000 people in Butte County and reportedly inflicting widespread damage on the foothill community of Berry Creek. Jason Pierce jpierce@sacbee.com
A home on Sugar Pine Drive in Berry Creek was burned during the Bear Fire near Oroville on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the larger North Complex burning in Northern California, exploded in size Tuesday night and into Wednesday, forcing evacuation warnings and orders for at least 20,000 people in Butte County and reportedly inflicting widespread damage on the foothill community of Berry Creek. Jason Pierce jpierce@sacbee.com
A Cal Fire crew takes a break in the grass next to Berry Creek Elementary School, which was destroyed overnight during the Bear Fire on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The crews only get a brief window to rest between hourslong shifts. The blaze, part of the larger North Complex burning in Northern California, exploded in size Tuesday night and into Wednesday, forcing evacuation warnings and orders for at least 20,000 people in Butte County and reportedly inflicting widespread damage on the foothill community of Berry Creek. JASON PIERCE Sacramento Bee file
Two burned out vehicles sit on Graystone Lane in the aftermath of Bear Fire in Berry Creek on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. Alie Skowronski akowronski@sacbee.com
North Valley Animal Group rescue team tends to horses on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, who survived the Bear Fire in Berry Creek. The team eventually loaded the horses for transport. Alie Skowronski askowronski@sacbee.com
Two chimneys stand at Camp Okizu on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, after the summer camp for children with cancer and their families was burned by the Bear Fire. Alie Skowronski akowronski@sacbee.com
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