More homeowners ordered to flee their houses as fire swept through the Sierra foothills above Oroville are bracing for the worst. Cal Fire officials have significantly raised their estimate of the number of homes consumed by the still burning Wall Fire.
According to Cal Fire, 41 single-family homes, 46 backyard sheds and other outbuildings and two commercial structures were utterly destroyed by the fire, first reported Friday afternoon.
Another three homes and seven outbuildings were significantly damaged.
Cal Fire is opening an office in Oroville at noon today that will offer information about specific homes to those with property within the fire zone. The Local Assistance Center, at the Oroville Municipal Auditorium, 1200 Myers Street will remain open until 7 p.m. this evening.
The fire has burnt through 5,800 acres. It is 45 percent contained. Firefighters from dozens of departments throughout Northern California and numbering nearly 1,700 are currently fighting the blaze.
Cal Fire said that fire activity has declined significantly, though evacuation warnings and orders remain in effect.
The Red Cross evacuation center at the Church of the Nazarene, 2238 Monte Vista Avenue, in Oroville remains open, along with a shelter for small animals at the old county hospital on Del Oro Avenue and a large animal and livestock shelter at Camelot, 1985 Clark Road in Butte Valley.
The cause of the Wall Fire remains under investigation.