Death toll remains the same, 1 more person ID’d
OROVILLE » Another person has been positively identified as a victim of the North Complex West Zone fires, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said at a press conference Thursday evening at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico.
Suzan Zurz, 76, of Berry Creek was confirmed as one of the 15 victims of the North Complex West Zone fires. Zurz was found on Sept. 9 on the same property as Millicent Catarancuic and Philip Rubel, two other victims who were identified last week.
Honea said it appeared that all three were aware of the fire but chose not to immediately evacuate after receiving information that the fire was 51 percent contained.
“We do not know how they came to believe that,” Honea said. “We don’t know what source they accessed to formulate that opinion.”
The death toll remains at 15 with 13 positively identified and one person still unaccounted for.
“I think that that’s an important number at this point because our efforts to really get out and start searching areas has increased traumatically,” Honea said. “Because we’re covering a lot more ground and that number is staying steady, it gives me hope.”
No new arrests were made Wednesday night in the evacuation order area, Honea said.
The North Complex West Zone fires have burned 78,750 acres with 40 percent containment while the entire North Complex is at 284,437 acres and 40 percent contained.
The total number of structures destroyed is 1,129 with 72 damaged. Of those destroyed structures 727 were homes, 51 were commercial buildings and 351 were other structures such as sheds or outdoor canopies.
Cal Fire Damage Assessment Teams will continue the documentation of the destroyed and damaged structures. Reports will be posted at tinyurl.com/ y3jmzxnj.
Firefighters were able to make significant progress since smoke had cleared Thursday afternoon which allowed the use of aircraft, said Ron Bravo, Cal Fire deputy operations section chief.
Because sufficient progress has been made, utility companies are being allowed into part of the burn area to restore power infrastructure damaged by the fire, Cal Fire-Butte County said.
John Messina, the fire chief for Cal Fire-Butte County, said that firefighters are gaining control of
the North Complex West Zone in rapid fashion.
“We’re 10 days in and we have a lot of control,” Messina said. “We’ve succeeded expectations with a rapid containment of this fire.”
Messina said that repopulation and having residents return to their homes is the next goal.
“When repopulation does happen, like what we saw in 2018 with the Camp Fire, these people are going to need the same support from the community and county,” Messina said.
Friday’s weather will consist of higher humidity and lower winds which will also help containment, said Dan Borsum, incident meteorologist.
Borsum also noted that smoke in the sky on Friday will be from the August Complex fires burning in the Mendocino National Forest.
Public Health
Butte County Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Bernstein urged residents against returning to live in any damaged or destroyed property until it is deemed clean and safe.
Bernstein also noted that the county is working with state and federal officials on the removal process of any hazardous materials.
Meetings
Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) will host a fire information session for victims of the North Complex West Zone at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18 at the Oroville Municipal Auditorium, 1200 Myers St.
Space will be limited, and seating will be prioritized for fire victims. COVID-19 requirements, including masks, social distancing and temperature checks will be required. LaMalfa said the program includes answering questions from the victims and sharing resources that are available.
The event will also be livestreamed on LaMalfa’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/RepLaMalfa.
The Berry Creek Community
Association has established a new website to help victims of the North Complex West Zone fires.
According to association president William Cotter, the site includes links to various agencies that are accepting donations that will be used to help fire victims.
It also has information about registering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The site is www.berrycreekbrave.com.
Evacuation notices
As of Thursday morning, evacuation orders are still in place for Berry Creek, Brush Creek, Big Bend and Feather Falls.
Warnings are still in place for Kelly Ridge; Table Mountain Boulevard, north of the Thermalito Diversion Pool, Coal Canyon Road and connecting roads along Highway 70.
Warnings also stand for the area enclosed by Highway 162 from Foothill Boulevard to Forbestown Road to the county lines north and south. On the west, warnings are in place for Foothill Boulevard to Oro-Bangor Highway to Los Verjeles, including Old Olive Highway, Swedes Flat, Bangor and Robinson Mill.
Also under a warning are both sides of Highway 162 from Forbestown Road, north to Bidwell Bar bridge, along with upper Stringtown Road north of Mountain Oak Road, Lumpkin Road from Faye Mar Drive to the Enterprise Bridge.
Warnings extend to areas north of Forbestown Road to Lumpkin Road including Lake Haven Way and Faye Mar Road, including lower Stringtown Road just north of Mountain Oak Road.
The Butte County Sheriff’s home page buttecounty. net/sheriffcoroner/ shows current evacuation warnings and orders. Fire information and evacuation notices are also posted on the sheriff’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/bcsonews and Butte County website www.buttecounty. net.
As of Wednesday, mail pickup for residents in the burned areas has been reorganized.
Residents of Berry Creek can pick up their mail at the Ophir Post Office, 2359 Myers St. in Oroville. Mail pick up hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Feather Falls residents should go to the Oroville Post Office, 1735 Robinson Street. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Residents of Forbestown and Clipper Mills can go to the Rackerby Post Office, 7417 LaPorte Road. Mail pick up hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
Residents of Challenge and Strawberry Valley should go to Brownsville Post Office, 8975 Frenchtown Ext. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Customers must provide identification to get their mail.
Evacuation center
The temporary evacuation point at the Butte County Fairgrounds has been closed.
Contact reporter Sharon Martin at 530-896-7778 and Laura Urseny at 530896-7756.