Carr Fire more than doubles in size near Redding, California

Bill Gabbert
July 28, 2018

(Originally published at 9:10 a.m. PDT July 28, 2018)

Carr Fire Igo — The Carr Fire, posted July 28 by the Igo Ono Fire Department.

Firefighters on Friday were able to minimize any additional growth of the Carr Fire into Redding but the fire spread significantly on the north and sides. Thursday night CAL FIRE reported the fire had burned 28,000 acres. A 1:45 a.m. mapping flight on Saturday showed it had expanded to over 80,000 acres.

To see all articles about the Carr Fire on Wildfire today including the most current, click here.

Early Saturday morning the fire was very active two to five miles south of Highway 299 burning toward Placer Road near Igo, and on the north side of 299 it had grown five miles north of French Gulch.

map Carr Fire — Map showing the perimeter of the Carr Fire at 1:45 a.m. PDT July 28, 2018. The yellow line was the perimeter 25 hours before. Click to enlarge.

Mandatory evacuations affecting 37,000 people and road closures are in effect for numerous locations around Redding.

Two firefighters were killed in the fire. Friday afternoon the Redding Fire Department confirmed that Inspector Jeremy Stoke perished. A bulldozer operator has not yet been identified.

A spokesperson for Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Mike Mangas, said eight people, including three firefighters, were treated for injuries. All were expected to survive.

map carr fire redding — Map showing the east side of the Carr Fire near Redding at 1:45 a.m. PDT July 28, 2018. The yellow line was the perimeter 25 hours before. Click to enlarge.

CAL FIRE reports that 500 structures have been destroyed, but has not broken them down by residences and outbuildings. On Friday an Associated Press reporter counted at least 125 burned homes. Typically on fires like this about 60 to 80 percent of “structures” destroyed are sheds, detached garages, or similar outbuildings.

Below is an excerpt from an AP article:

Located on the western side of Redding, KRCR-TV was forced to go off the air and evacuate their studio in the middle of a Thursday night broadcast. As the fire advanced, a high school that was used to shelter evacuees was suddenly in danger of being in the path of the flames, and evacuees had to move again to Shasta College, according to NBC News.

“When it hit, people were really scrambling,” Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean told the AP. “There was not much of a warning.”

The fire also reportedly burned structures in Shasta, located 10 miles west of Redding, and in Keswick. Early Friday morning, the entire town of Shasta Lake, population 10,000 was ordered to evacuate, the Redding Record Searchlight reported.

The weather forecast for the south part of the Carr Fire near Igo for Saturday calls for a high of 110 degrees, 11 percent relative humidity, and variable winds at 5 to 10 mph gusting up to 13. The conditions should remain about the same through Friday of next week, but with decreasing winds. High temperatures will be above 100 each day.