Mold Remediation in Chico, CA

CHICO – The historic Bidwell Mansion in Chico, California went up in flames early Wednesday morning, destroying the building.

Firefighters responded to the scene at the Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park just after 3:30 a.m., according to Action News Now.

Flames engulfed the unique Victorian home and appeared to have consumed the entire building.

In a statement, Chico Mayor Kasey Reynolds called the loss of the historic mansion a devastating loss for the city.

"Our firefighters, whether on duty or off, gave their all in the face of this fire," Reynolds said. "As we recover from the loss of our iconic Bidwell Mansion, we'll continue to rely on the strength of our community to move forward."

Exactly what started the fire is unknown at this point.

The historic mansion, originally built in the 1860s, was undergoing renovations that began in Spring 2024 and has been temporarily closed to visitors. According to California State Parks, the work was expected to be done by the end of the year.

Bidwell Mansion was the home of Chico founder and California pioneer John Bidwell. The 1934 film "The Thin Man" starring William Powell filmed several scenes inside the mansion.

Cecilio Padilla

Cecilio Padilla is a digital producer for CBS Sacramento and a Sacramento-area native who has been covering Northern California for more than a decade.

Twitter Instagram

CHICO, Calif. - Lulu's Fashion Lounge Holdings, Inc. announced on December 5 that it will close the distribution center in Chico and move operations from that facility to its consolidation center in Ontario.

The facility in Ontario will serve as both a consolidation and distribution center. The company says it wants to improve operational efficiencies. The closure means 83 positions will be eliminated.

The following statement was provided by a spokesperson with Lulu's to Action News Now:

"Our corporate office in Chico will remain in operation as will the Lulu's Outlet, continuing our strong ties to the community. We are committed to supporting impacted employees with job placement services and other resources to help with the transition.

Additionally, I wanted to clarify that we sent WARN Act notices to all affected employees, as well as to Mayor Kasey Renyolds, the Butte County Board of Supervisors, the Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium, and the California WARN Act Coordinator, in accordance with applicable law"

Chico City Councilmember Addison Winslow told Action News Now that the city has not yet received a "WARN notice", which comes when there is a certain number of coming layoffs.

But, he said Lulu's employs a lot of temporary workers so that might mean they don't need to follow the typical WARN notice procedures. Winslow said a few years ago Lulu's moved a lot of facilities to Pennsylvania and the owners who are from Chico sold a majority stake in the company.

Chico City Manager Mark Sorensen said, "I do not have any information on that item" when we asked him about a possible closure.

A current Lulu employee told Action News Now that last Thursday, the head of the corporation came in to tell them the warehouse would be closing permanently on February 3, 2025.

Employees were apparently told that the company has been losing money for almost two years right now.

Back in early September, Lulu's announced it would reduce the size of its board of directors from eleven to six members, saying in a press release, "This move is part of a calculated effort to reduce costs and streamline operations across the Company, while maintaining the Board's commitment to operating within the best practices of corporate governance."

Do you have the best Christmas decorations in town? Send us photos and a description for Patch's 2024 holiday tour of lights.

Bea Karnes, Patch Staff

CHICO, CA — Can the holiday lights on your home be seen from space? Does it look like the Las Vegas strip?

If you've spent days or weeks painstakingly hanging strands of lights on your house, palm trees and shrubs, or hauling multiple figurines out to your lawn — Patch wants to hear from you.

Soon, we're compiling a Patch California tour o' lights, where readers can explore the best holiday light displays in the greater Sacramento area.

We aim to have the list up as soon as possible — so email photos and a description of your winter wonderland to Kat Schuster at kat.schuster@patch.com.

For many of us, taking in our neighbors’ outdoor holiday lighting displays and other decorative touches is as much a part of the season as exchanging gifts and singing Christmas carols.

Find out what's happening in Chicowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There’s a good reason twinkling holiday lights and colorful displays make us feel good, according to mental health experts.

“It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness,” Psychologist Deborah Serani, a senior professor at New York’s Adelphi University, told NBC’s “Today” show. “I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out ... signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it’s pleasing or not.”

Decorating for the holidays “will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone,” she said. “For a lot of us, Christmas is a magical time, it’s a time of innocence. It’s a time of joy.”

That’s why Patch and T-Mobile are partnering to find the lighted homes around town to visit.

A few details:

If you’re including a video, please upload it to YouTube and send us the link so we can embed it (make sure it's marked “public”). We also request that the homeowner submit their own yard or a close relative.

We’ll keep updating the countywide list throughout December.

Once you've provided the information — and submitted a photo or two or a video (after you uploaded it to YouTube) — you will be entered and included in our roundup.

Pro-tip: If you haven't photographed your light display before, a good time to take photos is at dusk.

IMPORTANT: By submitting a photo, you're giving Patch permission to publish it for this feature and future stories. Photos should be original and taken by the person submitting the photo.

So, be sure to check back for updates and sign up for your local Patch.com newsletters as well!

Please copy and paste the following information into an email, along with photos or videos, and follow these guidelines:

We’re looking forward to hearing from you. Remember, email Kat Schuster (kat.schuster@patch.com) to submit photos of your holiday lights.