Mill Fire strikes Weed; 2 injured, neighborhood destroyed

Redding Record Searchlight

Firefighters made progress Saturday on the fast-growing Mill Fire that broke out Friday in Weed, injuring at least two people, leveling a neighborhood and forcing thousands to leave their homes.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials told The Associated Press on Saturday morning that about 100 homes and other buildings — most of them in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood — were destroyed. Containment around the 3,921-acre fire had increased to 20%.

A second wildfire, the Mountain Fire, started northwest of the Mill Fire in Gazelle and was pushing north on Saturday as it chewed through timber. That fire was 3,395 acres, up from 1,464 acres on Friday night. Crews had built lines around 5% of the fire.

Gusts up to 36 mph on Friday afternoon fanned flames from the Mill Fire as it spread from Weed to Lake Shastina. Residents from those two communities as well as Edgewood on Saturday were still under evacuation orders.

A burned out vehicle rests in the driveway of a house on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022 in Lake Shastina. It was the day after the Mill Fire broke out in Weed and raced north toward this Northern California community near the Oregon border. Cal Fire crews were mopping up hot spots in Weed and Lake Shastina.

One person was in critical condition and another was 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."

Asked whether there had been fatalities in the fire, Cal Fire spokesperson Suzi Brady said she was unaware of any and referred questions to the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office.

A sheriff's dispatcher said Saturday morning the sheriff's office had been busy helping people evacuate and hadn't had a chance to do a full survey of the burn area. Sheriff's deputies will have a better idea how many people were injured and if anyone died later this weekend. She recommended people watch the agency's Facebook page for updates.

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.

Both fires knocked out power to 9,775 Pacific Power customers on Friday — 5,360 of whom still had no power on Saturday.

The cause of both fires is under investigation.

Evacuations are also in place for the Mountain Fire.

Highway 97 stays closed, Interstate 5 under close watch

The fires prompted the California Department of Transportation to close a 35-mile stretch of Highway 97: From the 265 junction in Weed to a point six miles south of Macdoel near Ball Mountain Road.

Caltrans officials on Saturday did not yet know when they would be able to reopen the Highway 97, District 2 spokesperson Chris Woodward said.

Siskiyou County's busiest highway, Interstate 5, was open to heavy Labor Day weekend traffic on Saturday afternoon. Caltrans is watching the Mountain Fire's spread to see if it gets closer to the west side of highway, Woodward said. If it get's too close to be safe, Caltrans will have to close at least the southbound lanes if not all lanes. It that happens, and with Highway 97 closed, motorists would face "very long waits" and diversions.

Woodward advised motorists to check road conditions before they go, and to sign up for travel alerts from Caltrans' QuickMap app. For more information go to quickmap.dot.ca.gov.

Weekend weather favors firefighters

Cal Fire firefighters stand guard along a road on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022 near Lake Shastina Subdivision northwest of Weed, California. 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.

Weekend weather could give firefighters help containing the Mill and Mountain fires, 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 morning, weather service meteorologist Sven Nelaimischkies said. Calm five-mph winds and 10-mph gusts could slowly blow the fires toward the northwest on Sunday, but won't feed the fires' rapid growth the was it did on Friday.

Daytime temperatures in Weed cooled into the low 90s this weekend after soaring near 100 degrees on Friday.

Winds should remain gentle through Tuesday, but daytime heat will rise into the high 90s, further drying the landscape around Weed, Nelaimischkies said.

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.