Authorities in Chico responded quickly Wednesday afternoon as a brush fire erupted on the eastern edge of town, spreading across 150 acres.
The fire spread quickly through dry grass and shrubs near the California Park area and was 50 percent contained by nightfall.
Aaron Lowe, a division chief with the Chico Fire Department, said officials are still trying to figure out how it started. “The ignition source of the fire is under investigation, we’re still determining the origin and cause,” he said.
Some areas were briefly placed under evacuation warnings as the fire grew. Firefighters from the city of Chico and Cal Fire responded quickly.
“We had a high potential for structures after the fire crossed Highway 32," Lowe said. "We initiated evacuation warnings through Chico P.D. It is imperative that people have defensible space and that building construction meets code to prevent potential structure loss through [garbled] and direct flame impingement.”
Firefighters stayed through the night to mop up hotspots and monitor conditions.
Separately, residents were briefly evacuated from certain areas north of Orland in Glenn County after a wildfire burned near Stony Creek. Cal Fire aircraft were called in to make drops on both blazes.
Meanwhile, the Laverne Fire, which broke out Tuesday west of Anderson, is now 70 percent contained. It has burned through 180 acres.
