PARADISE, Calif. — Moist air and calmer winds helped firefighters make progress Saturday on a deadly wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the latest hot spot in an unprecedented fire season that has made much of California a disaster area.
Thousands of people evacuated from their homes twice during the last month began returning to Paradise for the first time since Tuesday. About 300 homes remained threatened in and around the town, down from 3,800 homes Friday, while officials said the fire was 55 percent contained.
“For the first time, we’ve really turned the corner,” said Kim Sone, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention. “There’s more resources staffing the fire, and the weather has changed. We’re getting good relative humidity, and the winds are subsiding.”
An evacuation order remained in effect for the nearby town of Concow, where 50 homes were razed, and one person was apparently killed last week after wind-propelled flames jumped a containment line. The person’s charred remains were found Friday in a burned-out home. The person hasn’t been identified.
The Butte County blaze is one of hundreds of wildfires that have blackened nearly 1,200 square miles and destroyed about 100 homes across California since a rare lightning storm ignited most of them three weeks ago.
Officials say more fires have been burning at one time this year than during any other period in recorded California history. “This is truly a national disaster. The magnitude is incredible,” said Daniel Berlant, a state fire agency spokesman.
