Latest on the Butte Fire

photos via the Amador Ledger Dispatch

Cal Fire's take on the current mess:

Fire behavior remained extreme throughout the day with rapid, uncontrolled fire growth. Suppression efforts had minimal impacts due to a high focus on structure defense. Mandatory evacuations are in place and expanded throughout the day as the fire perimeter grew. Evacuation warnings have been issued for additional threatened areas. More evacuations are anticipated as the fire behavior continues to impact additional areas. Continued hot and dry weather conditions will also limit nighttime recovery.  

Containment is now down to ten percent.  So, they are focusing not on containing the fire, really, but on structure defense.  Hey fire boys, if you put out the fire, you will save more structures. 

Here is the fire burning along yesterday.  An aggressive crew with hand tools could put that out, it's not even catching the trees on fire.  If I were wearing boots, I could shuffle along and put this particular part out with my frikking feet (don't ask me how I know, but I know).

 It's certainly important to protect structures, but a bigger fire, with minimal containment, as they say, will threaten more and more structures, with less and less containment.  Believe me, in this country the homeowners know the danger, and should have already minimized it by cutting back brush.  This part of the fire pictured above, for instance, would go out at a basic fire break.  Plus, homeowners should have insurance against this sort of threat.

Cal Fire should concentrate on putting this one out, not save every building in an area that has plenty of buildings scattered throughout the trees.  If the idiot homeowners haven't cut back their brush and trees, and thus created a defensible space, they should have to face the possibility of the loss of their homes.

Map of the fire so far. Wait till it gets into the pine forest.  Then it will probably  burn until it hits the granite country and goes out on its own (yes, I'm frustrated and cynical).