San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Wildfires threaten homes, close I5
Several hundred firefighters, working in sweltering conditions amid bonedry vegetation, made progress against one major Northern California wildfire Saturday while another continued to threaten homes and campgrounds and to close busy Interstate 5 during the Fourth of July weekend.
The Salt and Lava fires are both burning in rugged rural terrain in the Shasta Trinity National Forest in the upper reaches of Northern California, with widespread evacuations. They’re among 16 active wildfires burning in the state during an early start to the fire season.
Most of California saw far less rainfall than usual over the winter, causing vegetation to dry out faster than usual and increasing fire danger. Most of the state is in extreme or exceptional drought conditions, according to the National Drought Monitor.
“Belowaverage winter snowpack and hot, dry, windy conditions have created burning conditions similar to those normally experienced in August,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service said.
While all three Northern California blazes are burning in dry terrain in temperatures near or over 100 degrees, the Salt Fire, north of Shasta Lake, just east of I5, appears to be the most threatening. As of Saturday afternoon, the blaze had destroyed 27 homes and 14 other structures, the U.S. Forest Service estimated, and 450 people remained evacuated. It had burned 7,467 acres and was 5% contained Saturday evening.
Temperatures in the area cooled overnight, allowing firefighters to keep the flames from I5 and build fire breaks elsewhere along the perimeter, but the fire grew by about 2,400 acres overnight to 7,467 acres. It’s just 5% contained.
The Salt Fire is believed to have been started by by a vehicle traveling on I5 on Wednesday near the small rural communities of Lakeshore and Lakehead near Shasta Lake. Fire officials are searching for that vehicle, hoping to prevent it from sparking other wildfires.
U.S. Forest Service fire spokesperson Naaman Horn said the priority for the more than 800 firefighters Saturday was protecting homes and keeping open the freeway, a critical route for commercial truckers as well as holiday travelers. The fire is burning close to I5 near Lakeshore, south of a bridge over an arm of Shasta Lake.
Northeast of Weed, the Lava Fire has consumed 24,460 acres but no structures, according to Cheryl Chipman, a fire spokesperson. Three firefighters were reported injured, most likely from heat exhaustion in the hot weather and lava rock of the area, which radiates the heat. The fire was started by lightning on June 24. Despite the challenging conditions, Chipman said, firefighters appear to be gaining control of the blaze.
“The fire is really quieting down quite a bit,” she said, “and we’re moving into the cleanup phase in a lot of areas.”
The Lava Fire was 36% contained as of 7 p.m. Saturday, Cal Fire reported.
A third Northern California fire, the Tennant Fire, had burned through 10,012 acres in Siskiyou County and was 26% contained with no structures destroyed.
Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan