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SHASTA COUNTY — Fire crews are still at the scene of a fast-growing wildfire northeast of Redding that had burned about 600 acres by Thursday evening, authorities said, forcing the evacuations of nearly 4,000 people and destroying at least one structure..
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection resources responded around 11:30 a.m. Thursday to reports of the fire north of the town of Bella Vista, about 15 miles northeast of Redding.
Just after noon, the fire was listed at 20 acres in size, but grew to 50 acres within minutes, hitting 300 acres by about 1:25 p.m. before doubling in size in just one hour. “Erratic fire behavior influenced by windy conditions and steep terrain challenged firefighters into the mid-afternoon,” CalFire said in a statement.
Calmer winds in the evening allowed fire crews to slow the fire’s spread, with CalFire reporting the fire was 20 percent contained as of 7 p.m.
By Friday morning, firefighters had contained about 40 percent of the fire, which was also still at 600 acres in size at that time.
About 1,100 homes and structures were threatened by the blaze, and 3,885 people were affected, with a large area under mandatory evacuation, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Anthony Bertain said Thursday. The evacuation orders still stood Friday morning.
The sheriff’s office, which was coordinating evacuation orders for nearby towns, initially directed residents to the Shasta College gymnasium but was soon forced to evacuate the college as the fire spread. Residents were later sent to Crosspointe Community Church in Redding.
The area was badly damaged in last summer’s Carr Fire, which killed eight people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures.
ATTENTION: Due to the Mountain Fire we will be evacuating the Shasta College Main Campus, all students please leave immediately.
— Shasta College (@ShastaCollege) August 22, 2019
#MountainFire – ATTENTION! EVACUATION CENTER HAS BEEN MOVED TO CROSSPOINTE COMMUNITY CHURCH located at 2960 Hartnell Road Redding, Ca.
Shasta College Campus is closed effective immediately!
— Shasta Co. Sheriff (@ShastaSheriff) August 22, 2019
At Tierra Oaks Golf Course on the eastern edge of Redding on Thursday afternoon, Faith Hornby at the pro shop said the fire appeared to be about six miles farther east — she could see the tall black plume — and she had no orders to evacuate. The wind seemed to be blowing toward the east, she said, away from town.
“I know there are probably trailer homes and storage units that are probably pretty unlucky right now,” Hornby said. “Other than that, it’s not towards Redding yet.”
The golf course remained open, she said, “but we’re just taking precautions. If anybody wants to go out and play, we make sure they take their phones with them and take a cart instead of walk.”
Simpson University, located just one mile west of Shasta College, along State Route 299, said its campus was not in danger, but a scheduled women’s soccer scrimmage has been canceled out of an abundance of caution.
Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Thursday conditions in the area were breezy but not “overly” windy, with northwest winds blowing at about 10 mph and occasional gusts of between 17 and 20 mph.
The winds are expected to die down further, and shift south, around midday Friday, which should make firefighters’ work easier, he said.
“North winds [are] worse for fire because they blow down into canyon,” he said. “Winds shifting to the south should be better in pushing the fire to the lake — that’s the hope anyway.”
The air has also been very dry, Shoemaker said, with humidity levels at about 15 to 20 percent Thursday. He expected humidity levels to rise overnight.
“It’s not a real big moisture increase, but some improvement overnight, which should help out a little,” he said.
my backyard view #MountainFire pic.twitter.com/rq5mmqzFq5
— jillian asbe (@jillian_asbe) August 23, 2019
Authorities shut down parts of Highway 299 between Deschutes Road and Old Oregon Trail, as well as Kitty Hawk Lane at Bear Mountain Road, Bear Mountain at Dry Creek Road, Bear Mountain at Old Oregon and Old Oregon at Oasis. Several of the roads were scheduled to open late Thursday, though some residents remained under mandatory evacuation orders.
Redding Fire Chief Cullen Kreider said dogs and cats were being accepted at Haven Humane, while residents evacuating horses and other livestock were directed to the Redding Rodeo Grounds.
Residents may text SHASTAFIRE to 898211 for up-to-date information on evacuations and road closures.
my front yard view #MountainFire pic.twitter.com/zV1uWqq6ZP
— Rachael (@yagirlrachaell) August 22, 2019
Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report.
