Butte Fire Summary Timeline - myMotherLode.com

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The Butte Fire started Wednesday, September 9th at 2:36PM and burned 70,868 acres. A total of 921 structures were destroyed including; 549 homes, 368 outbuildings, and 4 commercial properties. Another 44 structures were damaged. It took three weeks to fully contain and took the lives of two people. Donations and assistance provided locally by The Resource Connection here and the American Red Cross here.

9/9/15 Butte Fire Acreage Grows from 160 acres initially, to 1,200 acres with an estimated 30% containment. Cal Fire confirms the Butte Fire burning in the Mokelumne River drainage jumped the river into Calaveras County — and is one and the same as the vegetation fire earlier reported in Mokelumne Hill.

9/10/15 Butte Fire Acreage Triples

2,600 overnight reported at 6am Thursday
4,000 acres reported at 7am
Some Calaveras Schools Closed
14,000 acres reported at 9am
Mother Lode Skies Filled With Drift Smoke
Calaveras Supervisors Declaring Local State Of Emergency
Tax Relief For Damaged Property
Cal Fire spokesperson Nancy Longmore, “What we’re seeing out the window is pretty daunting. Early this morning, the [Cal Fire] website said that the fire is spreading in all directions and that is absolutely true,” she states. “The main thing that is spreading this fire is the extremely dry conditions, not just the grass, but the brush and the trees are as dry as dry can be after four years of drought – and that, coupled with the steep terrain and the wind — is just allowing this fire to go nuts, similar to what the Rim Fire was doing two years, ago.”

9/11/15 Butte Fire Evacuation Shelter Switch

Friday acreage went from 31,974 acres to 64,728 acres.
Fire Resources Ramp Up, Calaveras Unified Cancels Classes
Public Information Officer Julie Rider notes firefighting hampered [Saturday] due to an inversion layer, with low lying smoke, that prevented aircraft from flying.
Red Cross Leads Evacuation Centers Efforts
Governor Jerry Brown declared the Butte Fire a statewide emergency.

9/12/15 Butte Fire Overnight Suppression Efforts

Day Four: Evacuations Remain
Unit Chief White Recaps Butte Fire
At least one case of looting reported Saturday morning in relation to the Butte Fire. The Placer CHP division reports that a suspect was taken into custody
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office responds to looting complains: Law enforcement is brought in from outside the area, through mutual aid agreements, to help provide additional patrol.
Saturday to Sunday the Butte Fire grew an additional 18,572

9/13/15 Butte Fire’s Destructive Path

Butte Fire Power Outages Declining
CAL Fire reports 135 homes and 79 outbuildings have been destroyed while four additional structures were damaged. Those numbers come from the damage assessment team after a second day on the burn footprint. The fire’s containment is 25% with the acreage only growing 85 acres to 65,300.

9/14/15 Butte Fire 35% Contained at 71,523 Acres

9/15/15 Butte Fire Overnight Focus On Further Re-population

Chief White Provides Update On Butte Fire at the Tuolumne County Supervisor’s Meeting.

9/16/15 The Flames Take More Homes 45% containment

9/17/15 Homes In Ruin Increase

Containment hits 55% and the fire’s size sticks to 70,760 acres.
Containment Anticipated Next Week
Butte Fire Recovery Assistance; Center To Open
Update: Butte Fire Ranks Among California’s Worst
Butte Fire: Locals Say ‘Thank You’
Angels Camp Farmers Market Includes Butte Fire Support

9/18/15 Butte Fire Containment Grows, Size Holds

9/19/15 Butte Fire Containment 67%

Containment begins at 65% and climbs to 67% as firefighters hold the line on the acreage for a third day in a row at 70,760.
Butte Fire One-Stop-Shop For Evacuees
Butte Fire Evacuees Get Help From Calaveras Realtors
Royce Will Talk County Issues

9/20/15 Butte Fire Containment Climbs, All Roads Open

9/21/15 Butte Fire Reaches 74% Containment

Calaveras Supes To Address Butte Fire

9/22/15 Butte Fire Destroyed Home Figures Drop

80% containment, the acreage is up slightly to 70,868.

Week 2 Butte Fire Containment Continues Climb

87% with the size remains at 70,868. Cal Fire PIO Josh Rubinstein reports another good sign is that the resources have decreased by 500 firefighters with 2,159 still battling the blaze.
Frogtown Still Housing Livestock, Transitioning Butte Fire Evacuees
Butte Fire Meeting Goers Get Info; Share Thanks, Concerns

9/24/15 Butte Fire Crews Close In On Full Containment

Advisory Evacuations Lifted
Calaveras County Amended To Federal Disaster Declaration
Butte Fire Recovery Meeting, Assistance Center Details

9/25/15 Butte Fire Reaches 93% Containment

9/26/15 No Movement on Butte Fire Figures

9/27/15 Butte Fire Holding At 93% Containment

9/28/15 Butte Fire Gains Containment: Weekend Fire Wrap-Up

95% containment and 70,868 acres
Calaveras Supes To Vote On More Butte Fire Business
From The Butte Fire Ruins Recovery Ramps Up

9/29/15 Butte Fire Remains 95% Contained

9/30/15 Butte Fire 96% Contained

Don’t Get Burned A Second Time
Open for Business Calaveras County Visitors Bureau urges the public to take a trip to the area. (see also Grape Stomp Aids Butte Fire Survivors)
PAWS Shares Post Butte Fire News, Big Cats’ Passings

10/1/2015

10/2/2015 Butte Fire Fully Contained

Other Butte Fire News