Fire still has yet to cross Highway 70; parvovirus outbreak confirmed at shelters

Despite a windy evening in the Butte County foothills, the evacuation notices that were lightened or lifted remain in place Thursday morning for areas under the North Complex fires, and fire officials say Highway 70 has not been breached, as of 7 p.m. Thursday.

On Thursday night, officials also said that four heavy helicopters used water bucket drops to slow the fire’s momentum and guard against spotting across the highway while crews worked to reinforce dozer line out ahead of the fire.

Fire crews numbering roughly 2,000 are working on further containment and contingency lines with heavy equipment on both sides of the Feather River Canyon. Crews continued to work overnight along Highway 70 to monitor for spot fires while watching out for rock and tree rollout making its way onto the road.

Addressing a social media comment about a spot fire crossing the canyon in the Storrie area, Tracy LeClair, fire public information officer, told this publication Thursday morning,

“All the information we have indicates the fire has stayed east of the highway.”

Evacuation warnings are still in place for Stirling City, Concow, Big Bend and YankeeHill, along with the area of Stephen Ridge Road.

Evacuation orders still cover the area west of OroQuincy Highway from Stephens Ridge Road north to the Butte County line, aswell as both sides of Highway 70 from Pulga Road north to the county line including Pulga Road and Concow Road north of Rim Road.

Overnight, down-canyon winds allowed fire crews to complete some backburning on the North Complex fires, which are still threatening Highway 70 in the Grizzly Dome area. On Thursday night, officials the fire was slowly moving in a northeasterly direction from the Grizzly Dome Tunnel area.

The fire, which is 79 percent contained, caused no containment issues along the remainder of the fireline, which continues to be monitored with both day and night shifts.

In the Thursday morning update, Casey Cheesbrough of the U. S. Forest Service talked about shifting winds allowing backfires to be lit and guided down to the road to help with containment areas.

A concentration of fire equipment and crews are still based in the Feather River Canyon to guard against fire crossing to the other side of the canyon. The fire does remain well established in the vicinity of Grizzly Dome Tunnel.

A mobile retardant base has been set up in the area so that helicopters don’t have to dip into the Feather River. Retardant has a bonding agent so sticks better in steep terrain and lasts longer than water, LeClair explained.

Highway 70

Cheesbrough also noted that fire officials will be meeting Thursday with the California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, law enforcement about the future opening of Highway 70.

“There are still safety concerns,” he said.

In Butte County, Highway 70 is closed from Cherokee Road. Highway 162 is also closed.

Dozers are working on ridgetops and elsewhere to build a network of contingency lines on the west and north side of the canyon in the event the fire crosses the canyon.

A spot fire below McGee Ridge has grown to about 100 acres, but remains on the east side of Highway 70,

Cheesbrough said, adding that crews are beginning to haul out hoses from the west zone, in Butte County.

Sheltering, local assistance

Butte County officials held a press conference Thursday afternoon in Oroville reiterating the most recent developments of the fire, specific to the corridor along Highway 70, while also providing updates on sheltering and clean-up efforts in the North Complex West Zone.

Shelby Boston, Butte County’s Department of Employment and Social Services director, said the county is no longer accepting small and large animals at each of its three county shelters, with the exception of injured animals found by responders in affected areas of the fire.

Additionally, at one of the county’s small animal shelters, a parvovirus outbreak was confirmed, Boston said. As of Thursday, seven dogs had been infected with the virus.

Boston said the gastrointestinal virus often sheds from an infected animal when they are exposed to stress. The most susceptible to the virus are dogs under 1 yearold that haven’t received vaccinations.

“Fortunately, our staff and veterinary teams discovered the illness very quickly and were able to begin testing and treatment immediately — with the assistance of our local veterinary clinics here in Butte County and at UC Davis,” Boston said.

The infected dogs have been moved to an isolation ward, Boston said, and a visiting veterinary team from Texas A &Mis treating them.

“I want to assure pet owners — whose dogs may be in the shelter — all animals receive veterinary care when they are in a shelter,” Boston said. “Stray animals are vaccinated, dewormed and monitored for any possible signs of illness.”

As for the evacuees of the North Complex fires, there are currently 673 people who are in non-congregate shelters. Butte County’s sheltering hotline, 552-6051, will have changed hours beginning on Friday. The new hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Local Assistance Center, at 1875 Feather River Blvd. in Oroville is open to help with fire victims document retrieval and information Monday through Friday, 10a.m. to 6p.m., and 10a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. It will likely close on Oct. 9.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is across the street at 2000

Feather River Blvd., and will remain open until around Oct. 21. Fire victims can also call 1-800- 621-3362 to register.

Air quality

The Butte County Air Quality Management District and Butte County Public Health issued a joint air quality advisory Thursday morning informing residents that smoke could reach unhealthy levels, and in some cases, very unhealthy levels closer to the Feather River north fork drainage, Thursday and the days to follow.

“Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of air pollutants that are harmful to human health. The major air pollutant of concern is fine particulate matter also known as PM2.5. Exposure to air pollutants in wildfire smoke can irritate the eyes and airways, causing cough, a dry scratchy throat, runny nose, trouble breathing, and irritated sinuses,” the agencies stated in the advisory.

The release said air quality will generally be worse during the morning hours and improve during the afternoon.