Carr Fire update: 80,000 acres burned, 5 percent contained on Saturday

July 28--REDDING -- As of Saturday morning, the fire had burned more than 80,000 acres and was only 5 percent contained, according to CalFire. The fire consumed nearly twice as much acreage overnight from Friday to Saturday as it had in the previous five days.

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 Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for California, allowing counties fighting wildfires to receive federal assistance and for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide equipment and resources.

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 Igo. The fire was also moving toward the town of Cottonwood, southwest of Redding, according to a California Highway Patrol livestream reported by the Redding Record Searchlight newspaper on Saturday morning.

At 11 a.m. on Saturday, CalFire ordered mandatory evacuations in the community of Happy Valley, located 10 miles southeast of Igo.

Residents living in Happy Valley experienced wildfires as recently as last month. Suebee Semore, who lives in Happy Valley, was forced to evacuate for five days in June when a wildfire charred the rural area around her house on Cloverdale Road.

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 Happy Valley.

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.

Igo Fire Department officials posted on Facebook late Friday, urging residents to evacuate.

"Time to go Igo," wrote the Igo Fire Department on late Friday night. "The fire is coming down Muletown (Road) ready to hit Placer (Road). Time to go now. Leave Igo take your pets time to go."

Fire crews from multiple agencies were stationed around Igo -- an unincorporated area with a population over 600 -- overnight and through Saturday morning. Firefighters and bulldozers worked to keep the blaze away from homes and ranches in the area.

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 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge on Clear Creek Road in Igo is "compromised" due to the fire.

The California Highway Patrol announced eight new road closures, two of which are on Highway 299.

Cal Fire told the Record Searchlight that firefighting air tankers from throughout the state will fly missions on Saturday as conditions allow and 17 helicopters have been assigned to the fire.

Redding's Dignity Health Medical Group saw a "relatively uneventful night" on Friday with few fire-related injuries, spokesman Mike Mangas told local TV station KRCR.

But other civic centers in Redding felt the burden. The evacuation center at Shasta College reached maximum capacity for people displaced by the Carr Fire, according to the Record Searchlight.

The Red Cross opened two shelters, and local churches have opened their doors to provide shelter and amenities for those who left their homes due to the fire.

Check back for updates.

___

(c)2018 the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

Visit the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.