Thompson Fire

The Thompson Fire is a fast-moving wildfire burning near the community of Oroville in Butte County, California, during the 2024 California wildfire season.

Background
The Thompson Fire sparked amidst a heat wave described as "exceptionally dangerous and lethal" by the National Weather Service. The heat wave has caused vegetation to dry out, increasing wildfire risk in the area.

The community of Oroville has been affected by several major wildfires, including the Camp Fire in 2018 and the Bear Fire in 2020.

Fire
The fire sparked at 10:51 a.m. on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, near Cherokee Road and Thompson Flat Cemetery Road. Within six hours, the fire grew from 15 acres to over 2100 acres, causing Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California, declared a state of emergency in Butte County. 13 thousand residents of Oroville were evacuated from the area.

On Wednesday, the fire had scorched more than 3000 acres. It was originally reported that eight firefighters were injured, three in a car crash and four were heat-related. However, that number had dropped to four on Thursday. Four structures were also destroyed.

By Thursday, it was reported that growth of the fire had slowed, partly due to winds that were fueling the fire dying down.