Carr Fire update: 80,000 acres burned, 5 percent contained on Saturday
Hot dry weather with triple-digit temperatures was forecast around Redding for the remainder of the weekend, according to CalFire. With gusting winds and low humidity, the weather conditions and the dry vegetation "still have the potential to fuel fire growth," officials said.
Two firefighters have been killed and three more have been injured. The blaze has destroyed 500 structures and threatens nearly 5,000 more in Redding and nearby towns. More than 3,400 firefighters have been combatting the fire day and night.
On Saturday morning, President
The fire, which pushed against the western part of the city of Redding and prompted an order to evacuate 38,000 residents, continued Saturday to move southwest of Redding toward the town of
At
Residents living in
Semore didn't evacuate on Friday or Saturday during the Carr Fire, but watched from her house as the neighboring areas evacuated and flames filled the area with thick smoke, like they had in June. Semore lives close but not inside the new mandatory evacuation area in
Her house and the already burned land around it seemed safe from the Carr Fire on Saturday, but the devastation nearby and the flames blazing through seemed boundless, she said.
"I've seen wildfires," said Semore, who has lived in the area most of her life. "But I've never seen anything this big."
Semore said it surprised her that the fire made it all the way to the town of Redding, where her daughter lives (but whose home was safe as of Saturday).
Semore is no stranger to the risk of fire. In 2014, a fire burned down the house she lives in nowl he son and daughter-in-law were the occupants then. Semore tried to hold off that fire with a hose, but ultimately watched it burn and got out. And the more recent June fire touched right up against her property, burning part of the fence. She was coming back from vacation when that fire struck, prompting her to unload her car, load up her animals and leave her house.
"Time to go
Fire crews from multiple agencies were stationed around
A crew was setting backfires to keep a fire from spreading to a home and then pulled out the hose to slow down the flames. A bulldozer cut fire breaks to help prevent the fire from blazing through the vegetation.
Nearby, crews struggled to keep the fire at bay. Officials told the Record Searchlight that the
The
Redding's
But other civic centers in Redding felt the burden. The evacuation center at
The
Check back for updates.
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