Northern California wildfire doesn't grow, winds, heat whip up flames

Crews made steady progress overnight against a Northern California wildfire that has thousands of people under evacuation orders, but wind gusts and continued hot temperatures Thursday could pose problems on a searing hot July Fourth, officials said.

The Thompson Fire near the city of Oroville in Butte County stayed roughly the same size and containment was still 7 per cent, which was the same as Wednesday night, said Kevin Colburn, information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

There are 26,000 people under evacuation orders or warnings, but numbers could drop as crews make fresh assessments.

We're going to evaluate and see if we can open up some areas, Colburn said.

The Thompson Fire broke out before noon on Tuesday, about 70 miles (110 kilometres) north of Sacramento. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to more than 5.5 square miles (14 square kilometres).

An Associated Press photographer saw