'It's always fire season': Residents describe fast-moving, destructive Mill Fire

Damon Arthur, Redding Record Searchlight
·4 min read

As the wind-driven Mill Fire churned through Weed on Friday destroying whole blocks of homes, Nikk Bouchez and Brock McCrea were reminded of last year's Lava Fire — only the Mill Fire was worse, as it "came out of nowhere."

"Last year, we were lucky enough because it started far enough away that I was at home when the evacuation started. And we had our cars all packed up and everything.  But this one came out of absolutely nowhere," McCrea said Saturday morning.

Fire maps show the wind-whipped blaze, which has injured at least two people and destroyed more than 100 homes, has burned right back over much of the 2014 Boles Fire burn scar.

Burned out vehicles rest on a street in downtown Weed on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. It was the day after the Mill Fire broke out in Weed and raced north toward the Northern California community of Lake Shastina near the Oregon border. Cal Fire crews were mopping up hot spots in Weed and Lake Shastina.
Burned out vehicles rest on a street in downtown Weed on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. It was the day after the Mill Fire broke out in Weed and raced north toward the Northern California community of Lake Shastina near the Oregon border. Cal Fire crews were mopping up hot spots in Weed and Lake Shastina.

The Mill Fire started just before 1 p.m. at the north end of Weed and pushed by strong winds from the south the blaze quickly burned north to the Lake Shastina community.

As of Saturday, the fire had burned about 4,000 acres. The fire forced some 5,000 residents in Weed, Lake Shastina and Edgewood to flee during hot and windy conditions.

Weed Mayor Sue Tavalero told the Associated Press the fire started on the property of Roseburg Forest Products and quickly burned through homes in the nearby neighborhood of Lincoln Heights.

The fire reduced entire blocks of homes to ashes, bricks and twisted metal with burned out cars in driveways.

Bouchez and McCrea were in Mount Shasta on Tuesday when the Mill Fire broke out. They got a phone call from Bouchez's mom and sister that the fire was headed toward his mother's Lake Sastina home.

A block of homes in north Weed was destroyed by the Mill Fire on Friday.
A block of homes in north Weed was destroyed by the Mill Fire on Friday.

They hooked up a horse trailer to their truck to evacuate horses. But by the time they got to Weed the roads into Lake Shastina were closed, they said.

While they hadn't seen Bouchez's mother's house as of Saturday morning, they were told the house survived.

McCrea said the trees in the fire's path ignited like "match sticks." As the fire raced north out of Weed, it veered to the west side of the Lake Shastina subdivision.

Firefighters from the Tahoe Douglas Fire District mop up hot spots in the Lake Shastina Subdivion on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. It was the day after the Mill Fire broke out in Weed and raced north toward this Northern California community near the Oregon border. Cal Fire crews were mopping up where the fire passed in Weed and Lake Shastina.
Firefighters from the Tahoe Douglas Fire District mop up hot spots in the Lake Shastina Subdivion on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. It was the day after the Mill Fire broke out in Weed and raced north toward this Northern California community near the Oregon border. Cal Fire crews were mopping up where the fire passed in Weed and Lake Shastina.

Matt Falconer was out on his motorcycle Saturday morning checking on friends' homes in the Lake Shastina area.

He said he was working at Butteville Elementary School Friday when he saw a "huge plume of smoke" in Weed. It didn't take the fire long to burn to Lake Shastina, he said.

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"It made it to right down here real, real fast," he said, pointing to Jackson Ranch Road on the outskirts of the subdivision.

Falconer said the Mill Fire reminded him of the Boles Fire, which destroyed 157 buildings in Weed in September 2014. The Boles Fire was intentionally set, officials said.

While both the Boles and Mill fires were both wind-driven blazes, Falconer said there was more of a wind on the Boles Fire.

Adam Hanna of Weed said he is used to the wind in the area.

"Yeah, that's why it's so dangerous here. So it's always fire season. It's almost never not fire season here," Hanna said.

Homes in north Weed were destroyed by the Mill Fire on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.
Homes in north Weed were destroyed by the Mill Fire on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

However, by Saturday morning the wind had died down from the day before and the blaze grew less than 50 acres overnight.

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Hanna said weather Saturday was in stark contrast to what he saw Friday. He said he was working in Mount Shasta when the Mill Fire started.

He raced home to his mother's house in Weed and got some belongings packed before returning Mount Shasta to help out at work.

"It was just a normal day at work until I noticed the power start flickering and going out. I didn't think very much of it until I saw one of my family friends that also works there. She told me to call my mom, too, because there was a massive fire at the mill," Hanna said.

"We got dog, the cat, all that stuff, and just went to the Mercantile Mall (in Weed) to stay safe," Hanna said.

Cal Fire firefighters try to stop flames from the Mill Fire from spreading on a property in the Lake Shastina Subdivision northwest of Weed on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. The Mill Fire erupted that afternoon in the area of the Roseburg Forest Products mill in Weed and raced out of control, forcing residents in that Northern California community, Lake Shastina and Edgewood to flee their homes.

While his mother's home was spared by the fire, he said he was staying with family in Dunsmuir because the electricity was out Saturday in Weed and some parts of Mount Shasta.

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Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is part of a team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834 by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Residents describe fast-moving, destructive Mill Fire