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. The fire burned 70,868 acres (287 km2).
| Butte Fire | |
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| Date(s) |
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| Location | Jackson, Amador County, California |
| Coordinates | 38.32974°N 120.70418°W |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 70,868 acres (28,679 ha; 111 sq mi; 287 km2) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Structures destroyed |
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| Damage |
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| 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. By Thursday, the fire had spread into Calaveras County and more than doubled in size over 32,000 acres (129 km2). Officials stated that the fire was expanding in all directions and that efforts were being hampered by difficult topography.
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. Officials from the Amador County Unified School District chose to close all schools in the district on Friday as well. Later that day, as the fire continued to grow, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Amador and Calaveras counties.
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.
The total cost of fighting the Butte Fire was estimated by the National Interagency Fire Center at $74.7 million.: 9