California wildfire injures ‘several people’ and destroys multiple homes
A California wildfire has injured ‘several people’ and destroyed multiple homes as more than 7,500 residents have been forced to evacuate.
The Mill Fire in Northern California has spread to more than 1,000 acres and is threatening the small towns of Weed, Lake Shastina, and Edgewood, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.
Suzi Brady, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said that several people were injured and taken to a hospital, but did not know the extent of the injuries, reports the Associated Press.
She told reporters that the blaze was being fanned by winds of up to 36mph and that 200 firefighters are battling it on the ground and from the air.
The fire began on the property of a lumber mill owned by Roseburg Forest Products, north of the town of Weed, California.
New Incident : CAL FIRE and multiple local fire departments at scene of #MillFire 200+ acres with dangerous rate of spread. Hundred of home threatened. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings are in place. Follow Siskiyou County Sheriff Office for exact evacuations information. pic.twitter.com/aGWoS3zpWJ
— CAL FIRE SKU (@CALFIRESKU) September 2, 2022
Rebecca Taylor, communications director for Oregon-based Roseburg Forest Products said the company did not know where or how the fire had started on Friday.
OES Intel 12, Sept 2nd on the #MillFire, SKU. Fire is mapped at 555 acres at 13:55 hours. pic.twitter.com/fWhPmHowbD
— FIRIS (@FIRIS) September 2, 2022
“We’re just devastated to see this fire affecting the community in this way,” she said.
According to KCRA 3 the fire started at a building before it spread to vegetation
Weed is located about 70 miles north of Redding, California, and is to the west of Mount Shasta.
A 2014 wildfire in Weed destroyed 110 homes and damaged 90 more. Two churches, a library, and a community centre were destroyed in that blaze.
