Lava Fire grows toward Shasta; 3,500 evacuated
Firefighters beat back flames encroaching on residential areas in the rugged terrain near Mount Shasta on Wednesday, nearly one week after the Lava Fire first exploded across the Siskiyou County landscape and displaced more than 3,500 people.
The blaze has more than quadrupled in size since Monday, when fire officials apologized for failing to fully extinguish the tiny fire that grew into the 17,500acre conflagration burning near Weed between Mount Shasta and Lake Shastina.
Crews made good progress Wednesday establishing fire lines to protect Lake Shastina residences, aided by strong winds that pushed the fire back onto itself toward the heavily timbered areas surrounding Mount Shasta, said John DeYoe, a spokesperson for the interagency team managing the fire.
Around 3,5000 people have been evacuated from the communities of Lake Shastina and Juniper Valley. No injuries or deaths have been reported. Fire officials have not indicated when the evacuation orders will be lifted.
Firefighters contained 19% of the wildfire as of Wednesday evening, but that number was expected to fall due to a “blowup” on the northern portion of the fire, said Daniel Ramey, a spokesman and firefighter with the Peardale Chicago Park Fire District.
Some fire crews were directed to retreat to safe zones in response to “erratic” and unpredictable fire behavior on Wednesday, Ramey said, with flames engulfing the pine tree canopy, posing increased risk to firefighters.
But while some crews were pulled off the fire line for their safety, bulldozer units continued to dig perimeter lines throughout the hottest part of the day, Ramey said. Firefighting aircraft dropped flame retardant to halt the fire’s spread as teams prepared for another change in wind direction.
“We’ve been preparing for a wind shift and now it’s time to see how the fire lines hold up,” Ramey said.
Base camps have been established at Weed Union Elementary School and Weed College for the nearly 1,000 responding firefighters and personnel on scene.
The lightningsparked wildfire jumped Highway 97 Monday, forcing officials to close off 30 miles of the roadway. The highway connects Weed to the city of Dorris.
Evacuation orders remained in place for residents Wednesday, including for people living in or near the following areas:
North of Hoy Road Along Highway 97 to County Road A12
Communities of Lake Shastina and Juniper Valley
Big Springs Road on both east and west sides
Mount Shasta Vista Subdivision
County Road A12 north and south
Harry Cash Road
4 Corners to Hart Road
Last Friday, fire crews dispatched to a quarteracre fire in Siskiyou County left the area after believing they had extinguished the small blaze. An hour later, the fire restarted and quickly spread, officials said. Over the weekend, that fire became the Lava Fire.
Todd Mack, a fire management officer with the Shasta Trinity National Forest, apologized Monday for crews mistakenly leaving the site.