OROVILLE – After one of the most active fire seasons in years, the Butte County Board of Supervisors has decided to consolidate recent wildfires into a single emergency response effort.

Butte County Chief Administrative Officer Andy Pickett brought the point to the board during Tuesday’s meeting, which will ratify emergency declarations for the Park and Thompson fires while also covering the Grubbs, Railbridge and Apache fires.

Pickett said the effort will help people in the county affected by the fires.

“This new proclamation consolidates all five of these fires into a single incident, which we call the Butte County fires of summer 2024,” Pickett said. “And if this were declared by the state, they would provide all fire survivors of all the different fires the same benefits and programs as the two current proclamations provide.”

While the board unanimously supported Pickett’s proposal, Supervisor Tod Kimmelshue pointed out in absentia that the California Office of Emergency Services could still deny the county’s request.

“I appreciate (Pickett’s) creativity and we don’t know if Cal OES will accept this, but it’s worth a try,” Teeter said.

The recent fires have resulted in numerous homes being lost throughout the county, including in communities in Oroville and Cohasset. The current total number of fires is 428.

During Thursday’s meeting, two other items related to fire safety were approved. The first item confirmed the local health emergency and the second was an emergency order for temporary accommodation.

Danette York, director of the Butte County Health Department, introduced the local health emergency to the board and also added the three smaller fires – Grubbs, Appache and Railbridge – to the current declaration.

The temporary housing ordinance applies to properties affected by fires. It allows residents to live in temporary housing on their property by relaxing certain local regulations. Paula Daneluk, director of development services, said the ordinance applies to both temporary and transitional housing.

“It is imperative that these ordinance changes be adopted to meet the immediate housing needs of those who lost their homes in the fires this summer,” Daneluk said.

Miscellaneous

Other items discussed by the Board included the following:

• Scott Kennelly, director of behavioral health, provided the board with a quarterly update on Senate Bill 43 and his department’s progress in implementing new changes.

• The Board discussed and ultimately supported a letter of opposition to a restoration project that would allegedly destroy agricultural land and minimize drainage of Mud Creek.