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Butte Fire

This article is about the 2015 wildfire in Amador and Calaveras counties. For the 2018 wildfire in Butte County, California, see Camp Fire (2018).

Butte Fire
Date(s)
  • September 9, 2015 (2015-09-09) –
  • October 1, 2015 (2015-10-01)
  • (22 days)
Location
Coordinates38°19′47″N 120°42′15″W / 38.32974°N 120.70418°W / 38.32974; -120.70418
Statistics[1][2]
Burned area70,868 acres (28,679 ha; 111 sq mi; 287 km2)
Impacts
Deaths2
Structures destroyed
  • 475 residences
  • 343 outbuildings
  • 45 structures damaged
Damage
  • $74.7 million
  • (equivalent to about $93.9 million in 2023)
Map
The footprint of the Butte Fire
The footprint of the Butte Fire
Butte Fire is located in California
Butte Fire
Location of fire in California

The Butte Fire was a rapidly moving wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 9 in Amador County, California.[1] The fire burned 70,868 acres (287 km2).

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.[3] By Thursday, the fire had spread into Calaveras County and more than doubled in size over 32,000 acres (129 km2).[4] Officials stated that the fire was expanding in all directions and that efforts were being hampered by difficult topography.[4]

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.[5] Officials from the Amador County Unified School District chose to close all schools in the district on Friday as well.[5] Later that day, as the fire continued to grow, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Amador and Calaveras counties.[6]

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.[2]

The total cost of fighting the Butte Fire was estimated by the National Interagency Fire Center at $74.7 million.[7]: 9 

Wildfire victim claims

Building burned down by the Butte Fire

On June 22, 2017, Sacramento Judge Allen Sumner ruled that because "...the Butte Fire was caused by a public improvement as deliberately designed and constructed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company," the company is liable for all property damages caused by the fire.[3]

On July 1, 2020, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust (FVT) was established as part of the reorganization plan[8] of the 2019 bankruptcy of PG&E to administer the claims of the wildfire victims.[9][10] Also on July 1, PG&E funded the Fire Victim Trust (FVT) with $5.4 billion in cash and 22.19% of stock in the reorganized PG&E, which covers most of the obligations of its settlement for the wildfire victims.[11][12][13] PG&E has two more payments totaling $1.35 billion in cash, scheduled to be paid in January 2021 and January 2022, to complete its obligations to the wildfire victims.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Butte Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Brouwer, Shawn (September 16, 2015). "Calaveras Coroner: 2 residents killed in Butte Fire". www.kcra.com. KCRA. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Cowan, Jason (June 28, 2017). "Judge orders PG&E liable for damages in 2015 Butte Fire". Calaveras Enterprise. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Helsel, Phil (September 11, 2015). "California Town of 2,700 Warned Ahead of Explosive Wildfire". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Heise, Sarah (September 11, 2015). "San Andreas residents prepare to leave as wildfire surges". KCRA. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Serna, Joseph; Rocha, Veronica (September 11, 2015). "Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  7. ^ National Interagency Coordination Center (2016). Wildland Fire Summary and Statistics Annual Report 2015 (PDF) (Report). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  8. ^ PG&E (March 17, 2020). "Disclosure Statement to the Plan" (PDF download). Prime Clerk. pp. 24–29.
  9. ^ "PG&E Fire Victim Trust Begins Accepting Online Claims From California Wildfire Victims". businesswire. August 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "Fire Victim Trust - Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). firevictimtrust.com. August 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Penn, Ivan (July 1, 2020). "PG&E, Troubled California Utility, Emerges From Bankruptcy". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Iovino, Nicholas (July 1, 2020). "PG&E Emerges From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". Courthouse News Service.
  13. ^ "Fire Victim Trust Funded July 1st". PR Newswire. July 1, 2020.
  14. ^ Iovino, Nicholas (June 12, 2020). "PG&E Boosts Stock for Fire Victims in Bankruptcy Case". Courthouse News Service.
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