UPDATE: Crews gain 100% containment of Peter Fire outside Anderson
7:30 a.m. Wednesday UPDATE
Firefighters have fully contained the Peter Fire outside Anderson but authorities say they still have the cause under investigation.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Tuesday evening the 304-acre blaze was 100% contained. All told, the fire destroyed six residences and 10 outbuildings. Another six structures were damaged.
"Firefighters worked tirelessly in triple-digit heat (Tuesday) to complete full containment and fire suppression repair and will continue to patrol the area in the coming days," Cal Fire said in a statement.
The cost of fighting the Peter Fire was $1.7 million as of Wednesday morning, the National Interagency Fire Center reported.
ORIGINAL STORY
Crews continued Sunday to make progress on the Peter Fire, which burned 304 acres and destroyed 16 buildings near Anderson.
The fire broke out Thursday afternoon southwest of Anderson but quickly burned north, torching some 300 acres and forcing dozens of residents to evacuate ahead of the flames. The Peter Fire remained at 95% containment on Monday morning.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection listed six homes and 10 outbuildings destroyed by the fire.
Cal Fire officials said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. But Thursday afternoon, residents living on Peter Pan Gulch Road, where the blaze started, reported hearing explosions at about the time the fire started.
The explosions were in the vicinity of a home at the end of Peter Pan Gulch Road, witnesses said.
At least two homes and some outbuildings burned down on Peter Pan Gulch Road while the fire ignited nearby grass, raced through a field and north over a tree and brush-covered hill and then down into the neighborhood that included Spring Gulch Road and 3rd Street.
Firefighters stopped the blaze about a mile southwest of Highway 273 north of Anderson.
A cleanup planned for Monday at Tortoise Acres Rescue & Sanctuary, which was damaged in the fire, was postponed, according to the Shasta County Probation Department.
Probation department staff and probationers were set to help clean up the tortoise rescue compound, but that was called off Sunday.
"The facility is not ready for volunteer assistance at this time. We will alert you all when we reschedule," Jill Haskett, a probation department community education specialist said in an email.
The cost of fighting the Peter Fire was $1.6 million as of Monday morning, the National Interagency Fire Center said.
Other fires burn in the North State
The Peter Fire was one of two active fires that had burned more than 100 acres in Northern California on Sunday, both were close to containment, according to the fire center.
The Electra Fire, burning near the historic Gold Country town of Jackson, had burned 4,478 acres and remained at 99% containment as of Monday, according to the fire center.
Firefighters are working to contain a 100-acre vegetation fire that started Saturday in Tehama County.
The Rainbow Fire, burning in the Rancho Tehama area southwest of Red Bluff, stayed at 60 acres on Monday and was 70% contained, according to Cal Fire.
The fire started about 1 p.m. near Rainbow Ridge Road and Stagecoach Road in Rancho Tehama, Cal Fire said. The cause of the fire was under investigation, Cal Fire said.
No structures had been damaged or destroyed in the Rainbow Fire, officials said.
Another quarter-acre grass and brush fire was reported in a greenbelt southwest of Masonic Avenue and Lake Boulevard in north Redding at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Redding Fire Department.
The fire was quickly extinguished, officials said. While the cause of the fire was still under investigation Sunday, officials determined the blaze was started by at least one person.
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: UPDATE: Crews gain 100% containment of Peter Fire outside Anderson
