Butte Fire
The Butte Fire was a rapidly moving wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 9 in Amador County, California.[1] The fire burned 70,868 acres (287 km2).
Butte Fire | |
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Location | Jackson, Amador County, California |
Coordinates | 38.32974°N 120.70418°W |
Statistics[1][2] | |
Date(s) | September 9, 2015 – October 1, 2015 |
Burned area | 70,868 acres (287 km2) |
Buildings destroyed |
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Deaths | 2 |
Map | |
![]() ![]() Location of fire in California |
The fire started at 2:26 P.M. on Wednesday, September 9, just east of Jackson, when a tree came into contact with a power line, and quickly grew to over 14,500 acres (59 km2) by that evening.[3] By Thursday, the fire had spread into Calaveras County and more than doubled in size over 32,000 acres (129 km2).[4] Officials stated that the fire was expanding in all directions and that efforts were being hampered by difficult topography.[4]
Early on Friday, September 11, Cal Fire issued a mandatory evacuation for all of San Andreas, as the fire exploded again to 64,000 acres (259 km2), but at 4:30 P.M. PDT, that order was lifted.[5] Officials from the Amador County Unified School District chose to close all schools in the district on Friday as well.[5] Later that day, as the fire continued to grow, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Amador and Calaveras counties.[6]
On September 16, the Calaveras County coroner announced that the bodies of two people had been found in the Mokelumne Hill and Mountain Ranch areas.[2]
On June 22, 2017, Sacramento Judge Allen Sumner ruled that because "...the Butte Fire was caused by a public improvement as deliberately designed and constructed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company," the company is liable for all property damages caused by the fire.[3] On December 7, 2019, PG&E proposed to settle all the claims for a total of $13.5 billion, which would cover liability for its responsibility originating from the Camp Fire, Tubbs Fire, Butte Fire Ghost Ship warehouse fire, and a series of wildfires beginning on October 8, 2017, collectively called the North Bay Wildfires (2017), combined.[7] The offer was tendered as part of PG&E's plan to exit bankruptcy.[7]
References
- "Butte Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- Brouwer, Shawn (September 16, 2015). "Calaveras Coroner: 2 residents killed in Butte Fire". KCRA. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
- Cowan, Jason (June 28, 2017). "Judge orders PG&E liable for damages in 2015 Butte Fire". Calaveras Enterprise. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
- Helsel, Phil (September 11, 2015). "California Town of 2,700 Warned Ahead of Explosive Wildfire". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- Heise, Sarah (September 11, 2015). "San Andreas residents prepare to leave as wildfire surges". KCRA. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- Serna, Joseph; Rocha, Veronica (September 11, 2015). "Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire". LA Times. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- PG&E Announces $13.5 Billion Settlement Of Claims Linked To California Wildfires, National Public Radio, Richard Gonzales, December 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.