Cal Fire says 'operations' at Roseburg plant started last year's deadly Mill Fire in Weed

Damon Arthur, Redding Record Searchlight
·1 min read
Firefighters spray water on the rubble of what was a home near 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.
Firefighters spray water on the rubble of what was a home near 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 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday that last year's Mill Fire in Siskiyou County, which killed two people and destroyed 144 structures, was caused by "operations" at the Roseburg Forest Products property in Weed.

The fire agency has come to a similar to conclusion to one Roseburg officials announced last year when they said the company was investigating whether a fire was caused by the possible failure of a water-spraying machine used to cool ash at its veneer mill in Weed.

The fire broke out at the Roseburg mill on Sept. 2 and pushed by wind strong winds it raced north, destroying dozens of buildings and eventually charring 3,935 acres before it was finally stopped in the community of Lake Shastina.

The fire leveled whole blocks of homes in Weed, including the historically Black neighborhood of Lincoln Heights.

Pete Hillan, a Roseburg spokesman, said at the time that company investigators were focused on a machine used to cool ashes ejected from a co-generating electrical plant as the possible cause of the fire.

"That particular machine is perhaps the most likely candidate for what propelled or started the fire," Hillan said last year.

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.

"We're still investigating. We don't know that yet. But of all the things that were near where the fire appears to have started, that seems to be the most risky item," he said.

The three-paragraph Cal Fire announcement did not specifically single out the ash-cooling machine as the possible cause of the fire, but only generally said the Mill Fire "was caused by mill operations."

Cal Fire's investigative report on the cause of the blaze was forwarded to the Siskiyou County District Attorney's Office, the agency said.

Reporter Damon Arthur 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: Cal Fire says 'operations' at Roseburg plant started deadly Mill Fire