July 4 (UPI) — Fire officials said Thursday they have made substantial progress in stopping the forward progress of the massive Thompson Fire in northern California and held out hope evacuees could soon return to their homes.
Crews deployed air tankers and Type-1 helicopters overnight against the leading northern edge of the fire, located just northeast of Oroville, Calif., and were successful in halting its progress, Cal Fire Operations Section Chief Cody Bogan said in an afternoon update .
The Thompson Fire had burned 3,747 acres and was listed as 7% contained as of 12 p.m. PT on the July 4 holiday as California sweltered through a prolonged heat wave that produced a high of 109 degrees in Oroville on Thursday.
Bogan said Cal Fire crews, along with Butte County, Calif., personnel, worked through the night into Thursday to break up the northern line of the fire and had made significant progress in stopping its southerly spread toward the city of Oroville and the vital Oroville Dam, which supplies electric power to much of the state’s Sierra Nevada Mountains foothills region.