A vegetation fire broke out southwest of Bangor near Sunnyslope on Thursday, prompting CAL FIRE Butte Unit crews to respond and triggering an evacuation warning for part of the surrounding rural area. The blaze, dubbed the Porte Fire, burned along La Porte Road southwest of the small foothill community.
As reported by Action News Now, the Butte County Sheriff's Office responded to the fire by splitting the existing evacuation zone, known as BUT-BR-295, into two separate zones. Zone BUT-BR-295-A had an evacuation warning issued on the Butte County GIS map, while zone BUT-BR-295-B remained under normal status. Butte County uses numbered evacuation zones.
Under evacuation terminology explained by Cal OES, an evacuation warning signals a potential threat to life or property and calls on residents with extra time, or those with livestock, to leave immediately — a notch below the mandatory departure required by a full evacuation order.
A Road With a Fiery History
A separate Loma Fire near Bangor was stopped at 3–4 acres.
In October 2017, the LaPorte Fire was part of the Wind Complex.
Bangor Community
Bangor is a community southeast of Oroville.
Should the fire grow and evacuation orders replace the current warning, residents should be aware that California law gives officers broad authority to close off disaster areas. Under Penal Code Section 409.5, any unauthorized person who willfully enters and remains in an evacuated zone after being notified commits a misdemeanor, according to guidelines published by the Fresno County Fire Protection District.
