UPDATE: Peter Fire 90% contained, suppression cost reaches $1.5 million
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9 a.m. Sunday
Crews continued to make progress on the Peter Fire, which has 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 in front of the flames. The Peter Fire was 90% contained as of Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection listed six homes destroyed by the fire, another 10 outbuildings were ruined in the flames, the agency said.
The cost of fighting the Peter Fire was $1.5 million as of Sunday morning, the National Interagency Fire Center said.
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 was 99% contained as of Sunday, according to the fire center.
7 p.m. Saturday
Firefighters made headway during the day on the Peter Fire, burning five miles west of Anderson.
The blaze is now 80% contained, up from 65% Saturday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
It remains 304 acres in size, Cal Fire said.
8:15 a.m. Saturday
As of Saturday morning, containment on the Peter Fire burning five miles west of Anderson reached 65%.
The fire hasn't grown since Thursday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It remains 304 acres in size.
Calm winds and cool temperatures Friday night into Saturday morning helped firefighters make progress on containment lines and mop up the area, Cal Fire said.
High heat on Saturday, with daytime temperatures as high as 106, could further dry out brush, making it more flammable, the National Weather Service said. However, light winds that fanned the fire on Thursday will likely remain quiet today, reducing risk the fire will spread.
As of Friday night, all evacuation orders were lifted for residents, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, but the following areas are closed to non-residents:
All roads connected to Spring Gulch Road from at A Street: Only residents may pass A Street.
3rd Street and Missouri Lane: Only residents may go past Missouri Lane.
As many as 200 customers were still without power in the area Friday night, according to the outage center at Pacific Gas & Electric utility company. As of Saturday morning, power was restored to all but four Anderson residents.
7:25 p.m. Friday
When the Peter Fire forced it to evacuate on Thursday, Anderson's Tortoise Acres Rescue & Sanctuary put out a call for anyone willing to help move its shelled reptiles to a safer location.
On Monday, the Shasta County Probation Department's Community Service Program staff, along with people on probation who owe community service hours, will be coming out to help clean up the facility. The fire burned enclosures for the tortoises and damaged the fences around the sanctuary.
The volunteers will be at Tortoise Acres, 3365 East St. #A, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the county agency said.
7:00 p.m. Friday UPDATE
The Red Cross will put an emergency shelter established during the Peter Fire at West Valley High School on standby status starting at 8 p.m. Friday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. West Valley is located at 3805 Happy Valley Rd. in Cottonwood.
The announcement also serves as 24-hour notice of the shelter's closure. Clients needing immediate assistance call 844-236-0153.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for residents only, the agency said. On all roads connected to Spring Gulch Road, residents only will be allowed to proceed past A St., 3rd St. and Missouri Lane, according to the agency.
Containment has also risen to 50% as of 7 p.m., while the wildfire remains at 304 acres.
3:45 p.m. Friday UPDATE
Containment has not grown throughout the day on the 304-acre Peter Fire, burning five miles west of Anderson, according to the California Department of Transportation.
Containment remains at 35%, Cal Fire public information office Cheryl Buliavac said Friday afternoon.
The 304-acre blaze hasn't spread, either, Buliavac said.
All turnoffs and lanes along Highway 273 near the Peter Fire are completely clear and it's business as usual, said Emergency Services Coordinator Lt. Rob Sandbloom with the Shasta County Sheriff's Office. Motorists traveling the highway through Anderson are asked to watch for emergency vehicles going to and from the fire.
3 p.m. Friday UPDATE
Closures at turnoffs from Highway 273 to Spring Gulch Road are now clear, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.
The Spring Gulch Road road closure moved to the A Street intersection, the sheriff's office said. That area is closed to most traffic. Only people living on Spring Gulch Road past A Street are allowed to enter the area.
The road at 3rd Street and Missouri Lane is also closed. Only people who live in the area will be allowed to continue past Missouri Lane, the sheriff's office said.
Residents returning to their properties are asked to drive with caution and to watch for emergency vehicles in the area, Cal Fire said.
The evacuation warning for all streets off Parallel Road and Jacqueline Street remains in effect, the sheriff's office said.
12:15 p.m. Friday UPDATE
On Highway 273, northbound and southbound turn lanes at Spring Gulch Road are still closed due to Peter Fire activity, the California Department of Transportation said.
No traffic is allowed on Spring Gulch Road except emergency vehicles, Caltrans said.
Cal Fire asked motorists to drive with caution and watch for emergency vehicles moving through the area.
10:45 a.m. Friday UPDATE
Friday morning, more people displaced Thursday by the Peter Fire can now return to their properties, the Anderson Police Department said.
Mandatory evacuations have been lifted for the following areas:
La Colina Terrace
Beacon Drive
Diamond Street.
7:35 a.m. Friday UPDATE
Containment of the Peter Fire grew overnight to 35%, up from 25%, as fire crews worked the blaze that began burning outside of Anderson on Thursday afternoon.
The fire remained at 304 acres as of Friday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Pacific Gas & Electric reported power outages were still affecting about four customers, with restoration expected by 6 p.m. on Friday.
The blaze ignited Thursday afternoon in Anderson near Peter Pan Gulch Road & Olinda Road. Cal Fire said 12 structures had been burned.
11:30 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Evacuations in place Thursday night won't likely be lifted until dawn, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"There's a lot of fire equipment on those roads" leading into areas currently under evacuation orders, Cal Fire said. "It's just safer to do it in the daytime."
The following areas remained under evacuation order Thursday night, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.
All roads connected to Spring Gulch Road, west of Missouri Lane
Diamond Street, west of Franklin Street
The sheriff's office also issued an evacuation warning for all streets off Parallel Road and Jacqueline Street.
All roads connected to Spring Gulch Road west of Missouri Lane are closed, Cal Fire said in an update Thursday night.
9:45 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Pacific Gas & Electric restored power to more than 1,500 customers in Anderson and other communities near the Peter Fire.
As of Thursday night, 31 customers are still without power, the utility company reported on it's outage website.
For more information go to pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outagecenter/.
9:30 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The number two southbound lane of Highway 273 is now open near Spring Gulch Road, the California Department of Transportation said.
The northbound and southbound turn lanes to Spring Gulch Road remain closed because of evacuations in the area, Caltrans said.
9:20 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Thursday evening, firefighters got a handle on the Peter Fire after daytime winds died down and high temperatures cooled, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
As of Thursday night, the 304-acre blaze burned 12 structures, Cal Fire said.
Containment remains at 25%, and is concentrated on the eastern side of the fire where it's burning about five miles from Anderson, Cal Fire Public Information Officer Jas Shaw said.
Firefighters will spend the night mopping up the area and work to increase containment on the fire burning about five miles west of Anderson, she said.
"With the high temperature today and wind," the fire made an uphill run near the Peter Gulch area, west of Anderson, Shaw said, but by late evening, the south winds that blew Thursday afternoon died down, allowing firefighters to make headway on the fire.
Anderson and Redding area residents can expect to smell smoke Thursday night into Friday morning as smoky air settles into the valley, Shaw said. "They may be able to see flames, too, like a glow from the fire. Don't be alarmed. Crews are patrolling and mopping up the area."
Motorists are asked to avoid roads west of Anderson when possible, Shaw said, and to watch for emergency vehicles moving to and from the fire area.
The fire started at 2:58 p.m., Cal Fire said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Shaw said.
8:30 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Peter Fire is now 25% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
The fire burned 304 acres, according to Cal Fire.
8 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Shasta County Sheriff's Office announced some Peter Fire evacuations have been lifted.
Residents who live in areas east of the Third Street and Missouri Lane intersection to Highway 273 can return to their homes, the sheriff's office said.
Residences of Diamond Street west of Franklin, and those roads connected to Spring Gulch Road west of Missouri Lane remain under evacuation order, the sheriff's office said. The evacuation warning for all streets off Parallel Road and Jacqueline Street also remains in effect.
7 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Livestock and horses are taking residence at the Redding Rodeo Grounds as fire crews attempt to gain the upper hand on the Peter Fire.
Redding Rodeo president Bennett Gooch said the facility has taken in four horses with four more horses expected to arrive within the hour.
Gooch said between 20 to 30 Redding Rodeo members are at the grounds assisting the animals and their owners.
'Who knows where it'll end up tonight but we'll keep the lights on," Gooch said. "We'll move a couple of members down there to stay the night with them in case we need to watch the (animals or bring them in at night. It's what we do."
6:30 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Peter Fire has reached Spring Gulch Road north of Anderson and is about a mile away from Highway 273.
The California Department of Transportation has closed southbound Highway 273's slow lane near Spring Gulch Road to assist with the evacuations forced by the blaze.
Caltrans is asking drivers to avoid the area if possible.
5:50 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
A Cal Fire official says the Peter Fire has increased to 300 acres.
Anderson resident Laura Noonkester said she heard propane tanks exploding in the distance near her ranch on Missouri Lane and Spring Gulch Road during the blaze.
Noonkester, who's in her mid-50s, lives on a 5-acre pasture and said she can't leave because she owns horses, goats and geese.
"The fire is currently west and north of us," Noonkester said. "There's lots of black smoke, lots of explosions and we can't tell what's going up from here."
West Valley High School junior girls basketball players junior Kayla Wiley and senior Lexi Lowe took 26 cases of bottled water out to evacuees inside their school gym.
Evacuees of the Peter Fire are being stationed currently at the evacuation center in West Valley. The West Valley girls basketball team was originally scheduled to host a shoot-a-thon before the fire.
5:10 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Shasta County Sheriff's Office has ordered new evacuations from Third Street at Highway 273 and all roads west of Highway 273 to the northwest to Anna Road and Spring Gulch Road.
The sheriff's office also issued an evacuation warning for all streets off Parallel Road and Jacqueline Street.
5 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Record Searchlight's Damon Arthur, who's reporting from the scene, says the Peter Fire has destroyed at least three homes.
The flames raced north and up a hillside after the fire started around 3 p.m.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
4:55 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Cal Fire says the Peter Fire is up 200 acres.
4:35 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Redding resident Jorge Alberto Cueva described thick ash and burned pine needles and leaves falling from the sky from his workplace in Anderson as the Peter Fire continued to grow in Anderson.
"It's kind of chaotic right now," the 32-year-old Cueva said late Thursday afternoon.
Cueva owns 530 Collision Repair on Jacqueline Street off Highway 273.
Cueva fears the fire might head south toward his shop and other residences nearby.
"It seems to be getting bigger," Cueva said. "The bombers come in and it seems to slow down and then it blows back up. I see my neighbors are pulling the hoses out because the ashes are so big. They are starting to come down quite a bit."
4:15 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The SHASCOM dispatch center lists these areas as under evacuation:
The area of La Colina Terrace at Beacon Drive
Peter Pan Gulch Road at Olinda Road
Streets between Peter Pan Gulch Road west to Twyla Road
Redding firefighters say they've sent four engines to help fight the blaze.
3:55 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Shasta County Sheriffs Office has issued mandatory evacuation orders on La Colina Terrace due to the Peter Fire.
"Please evacuate the area," the sheriff's office said on Facebook. "Anderson Walmart is a temporary public collection point."
A Hotshot crew has been requested.
An evacuation center is being set up at West Valley High School.
3:25 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
The Peter Fire has burned 50 acres, according to scanner reports. Evacuations are underway.
3:15 p.m. Thursday UPDATE
Firefighters say the Peter Fire has grown to between 20 to 30 acres. Flames have destroyed a building there.
ORIGINAL STORY
Firefighters are at a 10-acre vegetation fire that's burning at the end of Peter Pan Gulch Road off Olinda Road just west of Anderson.
The report came in just before 3 p.m., according to dispatch reports from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Cal Fire reported a structure fire spread to the vegetation. Crews say the Peter Fire has a moderate rate of spread with multiple buildings threatened.
Check back for updates.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: UPDATE: Peter Fire 90% contained, suppression cost reaches $1.5 million
