Butte Fire and Valley Fire Update: Wildfires in California Destroyed Total of

Crews are making progress on the Butte Fire burning in Jackson, southeast of Sacramento. Two people were killed in the fire.

As the fire entered its eighth day, Cal Fire reported the fire grew minimally overnight to 71,780 acres and was 45 percent contained.

Animal rescuers looking for lost dogs in the area of Blossom Lane near Mokelumne Hill in Calaveras County, near the Butte Fire, came across the cub whose hair had been singed from the fire.

Cal Fire investigators are looking into the causes of both fires.

A 72-year-old woman died in her home as the fast-moving fire ripped through the communities of Middletown and Cobb, and several of other people are still missing.

Containment on the Butte Fire in Amador and Calaveras counties has grown to 60 percent.

“Wouldn’t it be incredible if we all joined together on the sidewalks of old town to wave and thank them for what they have done for us?” she said.

Tuesday, around 5 p.m., Mark McCloud, a 65-year old male resident of Baker Riley Way in Mountain Ranch was found outside of his residence.

Since starting Saturday, it’s destroyed 585 homes, “and hundreds of other structures are know to be destroyed as well”, according to the state. Raggio’s office identified the second fire victim as 80-year-old Owen Goldsmith. “In such a small county like this, it just brings a tear to your eye”.

PG&E said it was assessing the portions of its grid impacted by wildfires, which have been exacerbated by the Western drought and extreme temperatures.

“Since June, we have been conducting daily air patrols along sections of major electric lines to look for hazards that could spark wildfires”, he said in a statement.

While we dont have all the facts yet, a live tree may have contacted a PG&E line in the vicinity of the ignition point, Barry Anderson, PG&E vice president of emergency preparedness and operations, said Wednesday. We have provided funding for lookout towers and cameras for early fire detection.

PG&E has been working diligently to restore power to surrounding areas affected by the Butte Fire.