Several people injured in wildfire near town of Weed, homes destroyed – KCRA Sacramento

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WEED, Calif. —

Several people were injured in a fast-moving wildfire burning in the Northern California town of Weed in Siskiyou County ahead of Labor Day weekend, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, fire crews are also having to battle a second wildfire burning in the area.

The so-called Mill Fire has destroyed multiple homes and forced several thousand people to be under mandatory evacuations on Friday, Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency, said. When an evacuation order is issued, that means there is an immediate threat to livelihood. Evacuation is mandatory in this case.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency in Siskiyou County due to the “rapidly-spreading fire.” A Fire Management Assistance Grant has also been secured from FEMA. Both are set to help funding to help contain the fire and those impacted by it.

The fire started around 12:50 p.m. near Woodridge Court and Woodridge Way, just off Highway 97 on Friday, according to Cal Fire.

KCRA 3 has learned the fire started at an old mill building before it spread to nearby vegetation, but the cause remains unknown. Rebecca Taylor, communications director for Roseburg Forest Products based in Springfield, Oregon, said she did not know where or how the fire started but the company evacuated its veneer plant in Weed after the fire was reported. Some of its property is burned. The plant employs 145 people, although not all were on shift at the time, Taylor said.

Weed is located about 70 miles north of Redding and is just to the west of Mt. Shasta.

The fire has burned at least 3,921 acres as of 10:16 p.m., according to Cal Fire. Images shared by Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System, which does aerial surveillance of fires, show several homes have been burned in the fire.

Cal Fire said there are no containment lines around the fire, which are used to help prevent the spread of flames. However, extreme wildfire behavior in recent years has shown that fires are capable of spreading past containment lines.

Suzi Brady, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said several people were injured and taken to a hospital. She said she didn’t know the extent of their injuries.

Brady said residents are still evacuating and that the blaze continues to rapidly spread amid 36 mph winds.

See all evacuation orders and warnings below.

(App users, click here.)

Evacuation shelters

Cal Fire said an evacuation shelter was set up at the Karuk Wellness Center in Yreka at 1402 Kahtishraam.

Large animals can be dropped off at the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds at 1712 Fairlane Road in Yreka.

The Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services said there’s an animal shelter at Rescue Ranch and a dog shelter at Oberlin.

Road closures

Highway 97 is currently closed from the junction with State Route 265 in Weed to about six miles south of Macdoel, Caltrans said.

Boles Fire also burned parts of Weed in 2014

In September 2014, a wildfire in Weed destroyed 110 homes and damaged another 90. Among the buildings destroyed were two churches, a community center and a library.

Weed resident Elizabeth Parker said many of the homes in the community has just re-built from the Boles Fire, “and they’re gone again.”

“Angel Valley was gone from the Boles Fire and it’s gone again,” Parker said.

Watch Below | Mill Fire evacuee talks about escaping the wildfire

(Click through the photo gallery below to see the destruction of the Boles Fire.)

Another fire is burning near the Mill Fire

Video from Alert Wildfire shows another fire burning not too far from where the Mill Fire is in Siskiyou County. It was reported around 4:20 p.m. southwest of Gazelle along Gazelle Callahan Road.

The so-called Mountain Fire is burning on the west side of Interstate 5, whereas the Mill Fire started on the east of I-5.

Cal Fire said at least 1,464 acres have burned as of 9:16 p.m. Evacuation orders were issued. You can see the evacuation map here.

| Read More | Second wildfire near Weed burns hundreds of acres, forces evacuations

Firefighters battle flames, hot weather conditions

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Siskiyou County from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday when area winds were expected to reach up to 31 mph.

California is in the grip of a prolonged heat wave. Temperatures have been so high that residents have been asked for three consecutive days to conserve power during late afternoon and evening hours when solar energy declines.

Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Massive flames were seen right after the Mill Fire sparked

This is a developing story, stay with KCRA 3 for the latest.

Here is where you can download our app for the latest.

–The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source Article from https://www.kcra.com/article/mill-fire-weed-siskiyou-county/41068908

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