Wildfire doubles in size; death toll stands at five

Redding, Calif. — Fueled by an incendiary combination of scorching temperatures, dry air and unpredictable winds, the deadly Carr Fire has doubled in size to 80,906 acres — almost the size of the city of Philadelphia. The wildfire has forced thousands to flee, torched 500 buildings and killed two firefighters trying to contain it.

Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke was killed battling the Northern California blaze, the Redding Fire Department announced. The other firefighter, a privately hired bulldozer operator, has yet to be publicly identified.

The deaths underscored the hazards of a blaze that Cal Fire Chief Brett Gouvea called “extremely dangerous and moving with no regard to what’s in its path.” The overall death toll stands at five. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning on Friday, saying fire-favorable conditions would exist until at least 8 a.m. Monday. The fire was so strong, it was producing wind gusts of up to 50 mph and fire whirlwinds — tornado-like funnels of fire, ash and combustible gas. Smoke from the Carr Fire could be seen from space.

Authorities say the fire started on Monday, when a car having a mechanical issue near Carr Powerhouse Road northwest of Redding sparked a spreading blaze.

But that slow burn “became very active” later in the week as weather conditions tilted in the fire’s favor, Gouvea said.

On Thursday morning, it was burning across 20,000 acres, fire officials said. Within 24 hours, it had doubled in size, thwarting efforts to bring it under control.

By Saturday morning, only 5 percent of the fire was contained.

Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Shasta County, where Redding sits about two hours south of Oregon, and in other counties where the state battled multiple raging fires.

As the Carr Fire’s flames beelined toward populated areas, emergency management officials scrambled to get thousands to safety — and to protect the property they left behind.

Marin County reported that three of its firefighters working on defending structures were burned on their ears, face and hands by a sudden, scorching blast of heat. All three were released from the hospital, with one expected to receive an additional evaluation. Gouvea also said civilians had been injured.

Before the blaze engulfed a home on Quartz Hill Road, Melody Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren Emily and James Roberts called loved ones in a panic, saying they could see the flames.

“She was screaming, ‘It’s getting closer,’” and you could hear the sirens,” Donald Kewley, the boyfriend of Bledsoe’s granddaughter, told the San Francisco Chronicle.