CENTERVILLE — Nearly six years after surviving the Camp Fire as it burned through Butte Creek Canyon, Jessica Vega and her family had a close call on Monday as the Centerville Fire quickly spread to almost 60 acres.
“You kind of have to use your gut,” Vega said. “And it was weird that we didn’t evacuate this time but with the Park Fire we did because it was moving so fast. And to see how many aircraft were here hitting (the Centerville Fire) was magnificent.”
Vega moved back to Butte Creek Canyon after the Camp Fire and neighbors other family members. Their homes sit just on the other side of a large central ridge in the middle of the canyon. Vega watched as water and retardant was dropped from planes and helicopters near her home for the second time this year.
A view of the burn scar left by the Centerville Fire on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024 near Centerville, California. (Jake Hutchison/Enterprise-Record)
Pointing toward the path taken by the planes from the lookout on the Skyway, Vega recalled Monday’s firefighting effort above.
“They were picking up the water from Butte Creek down by the covered bridge and they were circling around this way,” Vega said. “The water actually sprinkled down on our house as they were coming around.”
Vega said she was grateful for the fire crews and aircraft that knocked the fire down quickly.
Evidence of the fire is still clearly visible from the lookout. A massive black scar covers a wide portion of steep ridgeline from Centerville Road and north toward Highway 32.
According to the latest numbers from Cal Fire-Butte County, the blaze burned 59 acres and is at 60% containment. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Francis Rosas saws through a stump on a hill along Honey Run Road near Centerville, California on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Jake Hutchison/Enterprise-Record)
Closer to the edge of the burn scar, Cal Fire-Butte County crews carefully worked their way up steep inclines, clearing pathways and locating small hot spots to put out.
Capt. Stephanie Edson and her team were tasked with mop-up efforts at the base of the ridge. Edson said the water truck on Centerville Road was feeding into a fire engine, which pumped water through a hose to a second fire engine parked up on the side of the hill to get the water higher to the firefighters above.
“That’s a relay pumping platform in order to fill up because we have no other way to get water up here,” Edson said. “The road back there is pretty rough so we just leave one engine here, and I relay to that water tender. Then (the water truck) can get water and keep the water coming.”
Cal Fire-Butte County Capt. Stephanie Edson walks along a fire line near Centerville, California on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Jake Hutchison/Enterprise-Record)
In order to get the engine up on the side of the hill, the aircraft identified access points further down Honey Run Road to allow for a safer drive.
The Centerville Fire also marked the first use in Butte County of Cal Fire’s new C-130 military aircraft converted for use against fires.
“It just came into service about a week ago,” Edson said. “It’s the first Cal Fire C-130 of a bunch more to come that was converted to be a tanker.”
At 1 p.m. Tuesday, there were 102 personnel assigned to the fire along with 10 engines, six water trucks and three dozers.
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