UPDATE Sept. 1, 7:50 a.m.: The Ponderosa Fire has burned 3,680 acres and is 30 percent contained.
Twenty homes have been destroyed. About 500 homes continue to be threatened.
Some evaucations orders are still in place including:
Lumpkin Road from Forbestown Road to CAL FIRE Station 51, including the community of Feather Falls. For the communities of Berry Creek, Brush Creek and Mountain House. This includes Oro Quincy Highway from Foreman Creek, north to Mountain House and all tributaries including Bald Rock Road
Original Post: (AP) - Ten homes have been destroyed and 500 more are threatened near the Northern California town of Oroville. The fire has burned 3,507acres and is 10 percent contained.
The area has already been hard-hit by fire and a massive evacuation earlier this year caused by damage to sections of the nation's tallest dam.
Authorities on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of starting an illegal campfire believed to have ignited the blaze that has also damaged five homes.
Evacuation orders are still in place for the following locations:
- Lumpkin Road, from Forbestown Road to CAL FIRE Station 51, including the community of Feather Falls.
- The communities of Berry Creek, Brush Creek and Mountain House. This includes Oro Quincy Highway from Foreman Creek, north to Mountain House and all tributaries including Bald Rock Rd.
The Ponderosa Fire is one of many wildfires burning across the U.S. West, including blazes in and around California's Yosemite National Park that have closed a popular road into the park, shuttered the iconic Wawona Hotel and evacuated nearby towns.
About 58 homes near the park were destroyed earlier this summer.
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