Siskiyou fire updates: Mill Fire spreads Saturday; community meeting planned Sunday
Firefighters on Saturday are working two wind-driven fires in Northern California's Siskiyou County near the Oregon border.
Readers: Scroll down for updates on Saturday, Sept. 3.
The Mill Fire erupted just before 1 p.m. Friday at Woodridge Court and Woodridge Way, which is in the area of the Roseburg Forest Products mill, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Mountain fire started before 4 p.m. Friday near China Mountain Road, west of Interstate 5.
We've made this story free as an important public service to our North State communities. Please help local journalism thrive by subscribing to your local newspaper.
6:50 p.m. Firefighters increase containment around Mill Fire
Calmer winds and cooler temperatures on Saturday helped firefighters get a better handle on the Mill Fire, after strong winds and high heat whipped the fires on Friday.
The blaze at Lake Shastina and Weed grew to 4,254 acres, up from 3,921 acres on Saturday morning, Cal Fire reported.
Firefighters increased containment around the fire to 25%, up from 20% Saturday morning, Cal Fire said.
5:30 p.m. Cal Fire calls for community meeting on Sunday
Cal Fire's Siskiyou Unit announced there will be a community meeting to inform the public about the Mill and Mountain fires at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Big Springs Union Elementary School, 7405 County Hwy A12 in Montague.
Cal Fire's incident management team will brief attendees on progress suppressing the fires, Cal Fire said. A question and answer period will follow.
The meeting will also be broadcast on the Siskiyou County Cal Fire Facebook page at facebook.com/CALFIRESKU, technology permitting, the agency said.
2:50 p.m.: Siskiyou could see relief from Mill, Mountain fires
Weekend weather could give firefighters help containing the fire, according to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon.
The strong winds and 36-mph gusts that rapidly spread the fires on Friday died down on Saturday, and will stay that way on Sunday, weather service meteorologist Sven Nelaimischkies said. Vegetation is still extremely dry, but not as dry as it was on Friday.
Temperatures will stay in the low 90s through Sunday in Weed, with calm 5 mph north wind and 10 mph gusts, he said. Those winds could slowly blow the fires toward the south on Saturday evening, then toward the northwest on Sunday.
Winds will remain calm through Tuesday, but heat will rise into the high 90s again next week in Weed, Nelaimischkies said.
2:30 p.m.: Many in Mount Shasta, Lake Shastina still without power
More than 5,000 Pacific Power customers who are mostly in Weed and Lake Shastina were still without power on Saturday due to the Mill Fire damaging transmission and distribution facilities on Friday.
At the peak of outages, 9,775 customers were without service, said Brandon Zero, a spokesman for PacifiCorp, Pacific Power's parent company. As of noon on Saturday, utility crews had reduced the number by about half to 5,360.
Zero said the utility's priority was to restore power to Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta and Shasta View Care Center. That happened late Friday night. The hospital is also connected to a 500-megawatt generator as a backup until the utility can establish a "secondary feed," he said.
PacifiCorp has deployed additional crews to the area and is working with first responders and emergency managers to access damaged areas.
11:30 a.m.: Caltrans watching I-5 for fire threat; Hwy 97 to remain closed
With the Mountain Fire burning close to the west side of Highway 5, the California Department of Transportation warned of possible road closures over Labor Day weekend.
All lanes remain open on I-5, Caltrans spokesperson Chris Woodward said Saturday morning, but that could change if the fast-moving Mountain Fire gets closer to the road.
If that happens, and with Highway 97 closed due to the fire, motorists would face "very long waits" and diversions, he said.
Traffic along the I-5 corridor was heavy with Labor Day weekend traffic Friday night and Saturday morning, Woodward said.
Caltrans doesn't know when it will be able to reopen the closed stretch of Highway 97, Woodward said. It remains closed from the 265 junction in Weed to six miles south of Macdoel near Ball Mountain Road.
Woodward advised motorists to check road conditions before they go on Highway 5, and sign up for travel alerts from Caltrans' QuickMap app. For more information go to quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.
10:30 a.m.: 2 injured in Mill Fire
One person is in critical condition and another is stable after they were seriously injured in the Mill Fire, according to Allison Hendrickson, spokesperson for Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta.
The person in critical condition was flown to UC Davis Medical Center, which has a burn unit, on Friday night, Hendrickson said. The other is being treated at Mercy.
Hendrickson didn't describe the nature of their injuries, but said no fire-injured patients brought to Mercy died.
The hospital also is looking after nine people evacuated from Shasta View Care Center in Weed. The nursing facility moved another two evacuated patients to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff. Those 11 people are doing fine, Hendrickson said. "We're caring for them until they can go back home."
The wind-driven Mill Fire burned more than 100 homes, most in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood, Cal Fire told The Associated Press.
Thousands of residents in Weed, Lake Shastina and Edgewood were forced to leave their homes and are still under evacuation orders.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office reported the evacuation shelter at the Yreka Community Center is closed. Instead people should evacuate to the Karuk Tribal Wellness Center at 1403 Kahtishraam in Yreka.
Evacuees with animals can take them to the following locations:
Dogs: Rescue Ranch, 2216 East Oberlin Road, Yreka, Ca 96097
Cats: Search and Rescue building at the Siskiyou Golden Fair grounds, 1712 Fairline Road, Yreka.
Large Animals: The horse barns at the Siskiyou Golden Fair grounds, 1712 Fairlane Road in Yreka.
9 a.m.: Injuries reported in Mill Fire
Some residents living in the Mill Fire burn area suffered burns and other injuries, Cal Fire Siskiyou Information Officer Suzi Brady confirmed.
She said she did not know how many were taken to area hospitals or treated on site.
These are fast-moving fires and it's very important people evacuate when told to do so, Brady said. People can check evacuation zones with the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office.
Brady heard no reports of firefighters injured while battling the Mill or Mountain fires, she said.
The Mountain Fire continues spreading north Friday morning, Cal Fire said.
7:25 a.m.: Mill Fire holding at 3,921 acres; Mountain Fire grows again
Firefighters continued to make some gains overnight against the Mill Fire. They've surrounded 20% of the fire, which as of Saturday morning is holding at 3,921 acres.
Fire maps show the wind-whipped blaze, which has injured people and destroyed homes, has burned right back over much of the 2014 Boles Fire burn scar.
The Cal Fire-Siskiyou County Unit reported that "large numbers of resources arrived throughout the night" to build control lines around the fire.
To the northwest of the Mill Fire, the Mountain Fire burning in Gazelle and pushing north more than doubled in size to 3,395 from 1,464 acres. Containment on that fire is 5%
Catch up: Thousands flee, several hurt as Mill Fire scorches Weed, Lake Shastina in Northern California
"Fire continues to burn in timber," the Cal Fire unit reported on its Facebook page.
The cause of both fires is under investigation. Evacuations in Weed, Lake Shastina and Edgewood remain in place for the Mill Fire.
Evacuations are also in place for the Mountain Fire.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and entertainment stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Mill Fire grows Saturday; community meeting planned Sunday
