LAKEPORT (AP) — Officials have lifted all mandatory evacuation orders for the Carr Fire that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people.

The California Department of Fire and Forestry Protection said Wednesday that people are now allowed back in the areas in and around the city of Redding that were impacted by the wildfire that has been burning for more than three weeks.

Cal Fire says some public lands will remain closed until a review of potential hazards is finished.

The blaze that was sparked on July 23 by the rim of a flat tire displaced 38,000 people.

It continued to burn Wednesday and was described as 67 percent contained. </s> If you're viewing this on the ABC10 App, tap here for live video & multimedia.

Police in a Northern California city say they have been unable to locate 14 people, including a 70-year-old woman and her young great-grandchildren, amid a raging wildfire.

Redding Police Sgt. Todd Cogle said he expects most of the 14 to be safe since their homes survived the Shasta County wildfire. He says some may be having communication issues.

Cogle said he could not comment on Melody Bledsoe and 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, who remain missing. He said the Shasta County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

Police have surrounded the Bledsoe property with crime scene tape.

An investigator Saturday wouldn't say if any remains had been found. The wildfire that started Monday has displaced at least 37,000 people.

The Carr Fire is now 80,906 acres and 5 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

Officials say a deadly blaze in Northern California almost doubled in size overnight, but is moving away from populated areas.

Chris Anthony, deputy chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Saturday the so-called Carr Fire burning in Shasta County has scorched 125 square miles (320 square kilometers).

Anthony says winds are fueling the fire but also pushing it away from Redding, a city of 90,000, and other populated areas. Thousands of people remain under evacuation orders, including the small towns of Ono and Igo.

The explosive wildfire in Northern California has killed two firefighters and destroyed 500 buildings. Another 5,000 buildings remain under threat.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — In the small northern California community of Keswick, only a handful of homes remain.

The air is thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals. The rubble of people's lives still smoldered a day after the so-called Carr Fire moved through Shasta County like a freight train.

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains.

Somewhere in there was the home of Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason Campbell, a firefighter, was six hours away battling a wildfire burning near Yosemite Valley when the Carr Fire moved in on his home and family.

Shyla Campbell, 32, said it was nearly 2 a.m. Thursday when she got an official alert to evacuate.

"It's huge flames, it's coming up the hill, and everyone's out and we're watching it, then it goes down, and everyone's like, 'Oh it's going out,' " she said. "And I'm like, 'No, it's going down the mountain and it's going to come back up the next ridge.' "

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned from the blaze he was fighting on Friday, he found his own home had gone up in flames, along with an RV and a boat.

The Campbells' home of five years is among at least 500 structures that officials say were destroyed by the fire, which also swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

"It's tough," Shyla Campbell said Friday from the city of Shasta Lake. "I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire."

So are about 37,000 people who remain under evacuation orders Friday. Nearly 5,000 homes in the area were being threatened by the 75-square-mile (194-square-kilometer) blaze, which is just 5 percent contained.

Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Residents who gathered their belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as the embers blew up to a mile ahead of flames and the fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River and torched subdivisions in Redding.

Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Greg and Terri Hill evacuated their Redding home of 18 years Thursday night with little more than their medications, photo albums, clothes and firearms, assuming they'd be back in a few days.

But when they returned Friday, virtually nothing was left of their home but fine particles of ash.

The remains were smoldering so hot, they couldn't get too close to see if anything survived.

"It's pretty emotional," Terri Hill said. "I know it's just stuff. A lot of memories. But we'll make new memories and get new stuff. Everybody's safe."

The Hills fled before they were told to, knowing danger was afoot when the power went out and helicopters suddenly began flying low over their home.

Liz Williams loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbors trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates.

She eventually jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and "booked it."

"I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life," she said. "I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in."

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

The fire, which created at least two flaming tornados that toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, took "down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires.

Two firefighters were killed in the blaze, Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name wasn't immediately released. He was the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it, though it either changed direction or was stopped before it could burn into the core of the city.

Firefighters say 500 structures have been destroyed in a raging Northern California wildfire and another 5,000 are threatened.

Cal Fire released the updated figure Friday, though the number of homes burned in the so-called Carr Fire is expected to increase.

Earlier Friday, fire officials said 65 structures had been destroyed by the fast-moving blaze in Shasta County.

The blaze grew to 75 square miles (194 square kilometers) by Friday night. It began Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze, which has killed two firefighters.

The police chief of the Northern California city hit hard by a fast-moving wildfire is among those whose homes went up in flames.

Redding Police Chief Roger Moore told the Los Angeles Times that he and two other police officers lost their homes in Shasta County's Carr Fire.

Moore estimates at least 100 homes were destroyed overnight Thursday as the flames jumped the Sacramento River and raced into the outskirts of Redding. More than 37,000 residents have been evacuated.

The city of 92,000 is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border.

Moore said the family saved valuables such as photos and documents, but his wife and children are anxious and sad.

Gov. Brown sent a letter to President Trump Friday, requesting a Presidential Emergency Declaration for direct federal assistance with regards to the Carr Fire in Shasta County.

“Supplemental federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, and to lessen the effects of this imminent catastrophe,” Gov. Brown said in the letter.

According to the Associated Press' count, at least 125 homes have been destroyed in the Carr Fire.

A fire official says winds fanning a deadly blaze in Northern California were so strong that trees were ripped from the ground, flew in the air and landed across the street.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Chad Carroll said Friday many of those trees landed on homes.

He says that winds were so extreme Thursday that embers traveled up to a mile ahead of the flames.

Carroll says the wildfire that started Monday and has killed two firefighters is mainly burning near the city of Redding, which has about 90,000 residents.

But he says extreme winds are expected again Friday afternoon and says people in the area should be ready to evacuate.

Mandatory evacuations were extended overnight to include the city of Shasta Lake, which has about 10,000 residents.

Residents in Redding where several homes were destroyed say they had to scramble to escape the blaze.

Jim Chapin says he got home at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday and police were there telling people to evacuate the Lake Redding Estates neighborhood.

Chapin says his wife left, but he stayed behind to hose down the roof, gutters and fallen leaves.

He says that shortly afterward, the fire was burning trees behind neighbors' homes and ferocious winds whipped up branches, burning leaves, garbage-can lids, wood and other debris.

Chapin says the streets were so jammed with traffic that there was no way for firefighters to come in.

The 79-year-old returned to the neighborhood Friday and cried when he found his home still standing.

The Redding Fire Department says Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke died battling the Carr Fire.

An official says more than 5,000 people have been evacuated and that authorities expect the Carr Fire to continue moving into urban areas.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services spokesman Kelly Huston says they are coordinating bringing in aircrafts from the California National Guard to help fight the flames.

Officials say the extremely erratic wildfire in and around the city of Redding is growing rapidly amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. Temperatures are forecast to reach 110 (43 Celsius) Friday.

Huston says officials are moving emergency supplies including cots and food to four shelters set up in Shasta County.

He says the shelters are preparing for what could be a "longer-term" event.

Gov. Jerry Brown urges residents to follow all evacuations concerning the Carr Fire. CAL FIRE officials said under 5,000 structures are at risk.

"This is the new normal for us in California," said CAL FIRE division chief Chris Anthony.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — An explosive wildfire that roared with little warning into a Northern California city claimed a second life and thousands more people abandoned their homes, some of them slipping out just ahead of the walls of flame, authorities said Friday.

In all, an estimated 37,000 people have fled from the so-called Carr Fire, which began Monday and tripled in size overnight Thursday amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and high winds. Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it.

A day earlier, the flames turned the sky orange while sweeping through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then jumping the Sacramento River into Redding, a city of about 92,000 people and the largest in the region.

Steve Hobson was one of the last to leave Lake Redding Drive. A former urban and wild land firefighter three decades ago, he planned to stay behind to save his house. But the heat burned his skin, and the smoke made it hard to breathe. He could feel the fire sucking the air from the around him, whipping up swirling embers in a "fire tornado," he said.

Residents in the western part of Redding who had not been under evacuation orders were caught off guard and had to flee with little notice.

"When it hit, people were really scrambling," McLean said. "There was not much of a warning."

Many fire crews turned their focus from the flames to getting people out alive.

"Really, we're in a life-saving mode right now in Redding," said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. "We're not fighting a fire. We're trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area."

Some residents drove to hotels or the homes of family members in safer parts of California, while other evacuees poured into a shelter just outside of town.

A reporter with Redding television station KRCR choked up as she reported live updates about the fire before the station had to go off the air later. Two news anchors told viewers that the building was being evacuated and urged residents to "be safe."

Journalists at the Record Searchlight newspaper tweeted about continuing to report on the fire without electricity in their newsroom, and a reporter at nearby KHSL television wrote on Twitter that the station's Redding reporters were "running home to gather their things."

Mike Mangas, a spokesman at Mercy Medical Center, said the hospital was evacuating five babies in its neonatal intensive care unit, which cares for premature newborns, and taking them to medical facilities outside of the area.

He said the hospital was preparing high-risk patients to be evacuated but there were no immediate plans to do so.

Late Thursday, crews found the body of the bulldozer operator who had been hired privately to clear vegetation in the blaze's path, McLean said. The fire burned over the operator and his equipment, making him the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Three firefighters and an unknown number of civilians had burns, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known, McLean said.

"It's just chaotic. It's wild," he said. "There's a lot of fire, a lot of structures burning."

Firefighters tried in vain to build containment around the blaze Thursday, but flames kept jumping their lines, he said.

"It's just a heck of a fight," he said. "They're doing what they can do, and they get pushed out in a lot of cases. We're fighting the fight right now."

He said the fire behavior was so erratic, there were tornadoes within the fire "tossing around equipment, blowing windows out of Cal Fire pickup trucks."

The 45-square-mile (115-square-kilometer) fire that began Monday tripled in size overnight Thursday amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. It was sparked by a mechanical issue involving a vehicle, Cal Fire said.

Brett Gouvea, incident commander of the crews battling the fire, urged residents to pay close attention to the blaze.

"This fire is extremely dangerous and moving with no regard for what's in its path," he said.

Earlier in the day, with flames exploding around Whiskeytown Lake, people tried to save boats at a marina by untying them from moorings and pushing them to safety. But it wasn't swift enough to spare them all. Dozens of charred, twisted and melted boats were among the losses at Oak Bottom Marina.

"The boat docks down there — all the way out in the water — 30 to 40 boats caught fire when the fire laid down on top of them last night and burned those up," said fire Chief Mike Hebrard of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Wildfires throughout the state have burned through tinder-dry brush and forest, forced thousands to evacuate homes and caused campers to pack up their tents at the height of summer. Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency for the three largest fires, which will authorize the state to rally resources to local governments.

A huge forest fire continued to grow outside Yosemite National Park. That blaze killed 36-year-old Braden Varney, a heavy equipment operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection whose bulldozer rolled over into a ravine July 14.

Hundreds of miles to the south, the Cranston Fire grew to 7.5 square miles (19 square kilometers) and about 3,000 residents remained under evacuation orders in Idyllwild and several neighboring communities. That fire, which destroyed five homes, is believed to have been sparked by arson.

Click here for a list of evacuation orders and additional information. </s> If you're viewing this on the ABC10 App, tap here for multimedia.

Firefighters say 500 structures have been destroyed in a raging Northern California wildfire and another 5,000 are threatened.

Cal Fire released the updated figure Friday, though the number of homes burned in the so-called Carr Fire is expected to increase.

Earlier Friday, fire officials said 65 structures had been destroyed by the fast-moving blaze in Shasta County.

The blaze grew to 75 square miles (194 square kilometers) by Friday night. It began Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze, which has killed two firefighters.

The police chief of the Northern California city hit hard by a fast-moving wildfire is among those whose homes went up in flames.

Redding Police Chief Roger Moore told the Los Angeles Times that he and two other police officers lost their homes in Shasta County's Carr Fire.

Moore estimates at least 100 homes were destroyed overnight Thursday as the flames jumped the Sacramento River and raced into the outskirts of Redding. More than 37,000 residents have been evacuated.

The city of 92,000 is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border.

Moore said the family saved valuables such as photos and documents, but his wife and children are anxious and sad.

Gov. Brown sent a letter to President Trump Friday, requesting a Presidential Emergency Declaration for direct federal assistance with regards to the Carr Fire in Shasta County.

“Supplemental federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, and to lessen the effects of this imminent catastrophe,” Gov. Brown said in the letter.

According to the Associated Press' count, at least 125 homes have been destroyed in the Carr Fire.

A fire official says winds fanning a deadly blaze in Northern California were so strong that trees were ripped from the ground, flew in the air and landed across the street.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Chad Carroll said Friday many of those trees landed on homes.

He says that winds were so extreme Thursday that embers traveled up to a mile ahead of the flames.

Carroll says the wildfire that started Monday and has killed two firefighters is mainly burning near the city of Redding, which has about 90,000 residents.

But he says extreme winds are expected again Friday afternoon and says people in the area should be ready to evacuate.

Mandatory evacuations were extended overnight to include the city of Shasta Lake, which has about 10,000 residents.

Residents in Redding where several homes were destroyed say they had to scramble to escape the blaze.

Jim Chapin says he got home at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday and police were there telling people to evacuate the Lake Redding Estates neighborhood.

Chapin says his wife left, but he stayed behind to hose down the roof, gutters and fallen leaves.

He says that shortly afterward, the fire was burning trees behind neighbors' homes and ferocious winds whipped up branches, burning leaves, garbage-can lids, wood and other debris.

Chapin says the streets were so jammed with traffic that there was no way for firefighters to come in.

The 79-year-old returned to the neighborhood Friday and cried when he found his home still standing.

The Redding Fire Department says Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke died battling the Carr Fire.

An official says more than 5,000 people have been evacuated and that authorities expect the Carr Fire to continue moving into urban areas.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services spokesman Kelly Huston says they are coordinating bringing in aircrafts from the California National Guard to help fight the flames.

Officials say the extremely erratic wildfire in and around the city of Redding is growing rapidly amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. Temperatures are forecast to reach 110 (43 Celsius) Friday.

Huston says officials are moving emergency supplies including cots and food to four shelters set up in Shasta County.

He says the shelters are preparing for what could be a "longer-term" event.

Gov. Jerry Brown urges residents to follow all evacuations concerning the Carr Fire. CAL FIRE officials said under 5,000 structures are at risk.

"This is the new normal for us in California," said CAL FIRE division chief Chris Anthony.

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — An explosive wildfire that roared with little warning into a Northern California city claimed a second life and thousands more people abandoned their homes, some of them slipping out just ahead of the walls of flame, authorities said Friday.

In all, an estimated 37,000 people have fled from the so-called Carr Fire, which began Monday and tripled in size overnight Thursday amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and high winds. Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it.

A day earlier, the flames turned the sky orange while sweeping through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then jumping the Sacramento River into Redding, a city of about 92,000 people and the largest in the region.

Steve Hobson was one of the last to leave Lake Redding Drive. A former urban and wild land firefighter three decades ago, he planned to stay behind to save his house. But the heat burned his skin, and the smoke made it hard to breathe. He could feel the fire sucking the air from the around him, whipping up swirling embers in a "fire tornado," he said.

Residents in the western part of Redding who had not been under evacuation orders were caught off guard and had to flee with little notice.

"When it hit, people were really scrambling," McLean said. "There was not much of a warning."

Many fire crews turned their focus from the flames to getting people out alive.

"Really, we're in a life-saving mode right now in Redding," said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. "We're not fighting a fire. We're trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area."

Some residents drove to hotels or the homes of family members in safer parts of California, while other evacuees poured into a shelter just outside of town.

A reporter with Redding television station KRCR choked up as she reported live updates about the fire before the station had to go off the air later. Two news anchors told viewers that the building was being evacuated and urged residents to "be safe."

Journalists at the Record Searchlight newspaper tweeted about continuing to report on the fire without electricity in their newsroom, and a reporter at nearby KHSL television wrote on Twitter that the station's Redding reporters were "running home to gather their things."

Mike Mangas, a spokesman at Mercy Medical Center, said the hospital was evacuating five babies in its neonatal intensive care unit, which cares for premature newborns, and taking them to medical facilities outside of the area.

He said the hospital was preparing high-risk patients to be evacuated but there were no immediate plans to do so.

Late Thursday, crews found the body of the bulldozer operator who had been hired privately to clear vegetation in the blaze's path, McLean said. The fire burned over the operator and his equipment, making him the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Three firefighters and an unknown number of civilians had burns, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known, McLean said.

"It's just chaotic. It's wild," he said. "There's a lot of fire, a lot of structures burning."

Firefighters tried in vain to build containment around the blaze Thursday, but flames kept jumping their lines, he said.

"It's just a heck of a fight," he said. "They're doing what they can do, and they get pushed out in a lot of cases. We're fighting the fight right now."

He said the fire behavior was so erratic, there were tornadoes within the fire "tossing around equipment, blowing windows out of Cal Fire pickup trucks."

The 45-square-mile (115-square-kilometer) fire that began Monday tripled in size overnight Thursday amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. It was sparked by a mechanical issue involving a vehicle, Cal Fire said.

Brett Gouvea, incident commander of the crews battling the fire, urged residents to pay close attention to the blaze.

"This fire is extremely dangerous and moving with no regard for what's in its path," he said.

Earlier in the day, with flames exploding around Whiskeytown Lake, people tried to save boats at a marina by untying them from moorings and pushing them to safety. But it wasn't swift enough to spare them all. Dozens of charred, twisted and melted boats were among the losses at Oak Bottom Marina.

"The boat docks down there — all the way out in the water — 30 to 40 boats caught fire when the fire laid down on top of them last night and burned those up," said fire Chief Mike Hebrard of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Wildfires throughout the state have burned through tinder-dry brush and forest, forced thousands to evacuate homes and caused campers to pack up their tents at the height of summer. Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency for the three largest fires, which will authorize the state to rally resources to local governments.

A huge forest fire continued to grow outside Yosemite National Park. That blaze killed 36-year-old Braden Varney, a heavy equipment operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection whose bulldozer rolled over into a ravine July 14.

Hundreds of miles to the south, the Cranston Fire grew to 7.5 square miles (19 square kilometers) and about 3,000 residents remained under evacuation orders in Idyllwild and several neighboring communities. That fire, which destroyed five homes, is believed to have been sparked by arson.

Click here for a list of evacuation orders and additional information. </s> Monday, a wild-fire now called “The Carr Fire” began, the flames have left two firefighters dead, and three injured.

Additionally, the fire has destroyed at least 500 structures, more than 45,000 acres and is threatening thousands of homes in California as the blaze continue.

About 38,000 people have been evacuated from the Northern California area as firefighters work to put out the ongoing fire.

This story will be updated once more information is available.

The post 38,000 evacuated as Carr wildfire continues to burn, 2 firefighters dead appeared first on 850 WFTL. </s> The Carr Fire has torched more than 100,000 acres as of Tuesday, fire authorities said. Photo by Jason Knight, EPA-EFE

The Carr Fire has torched more than 100,000 acres as of Tuesday, fire authorities said. Photo by Jason Knight, EPA-EFE

A handout photo made available by Cal Fire of the aftermath in one neighborhood of the Carr Fire as it moved into the area west of Redding, Calif. Photo by EPA-EFE/Jason Knight

The Carr Fire in Shasta County, Calif., has torched more than 100,000 acres so far and killed six people, authorities said. Photo courtesy Cal Fire Shasta County

July 31 (UPI) -- Fires raging across California have killed at least eight people, stretching the state's funds and resources thin as firefighters try to gain control.

About a quarter of the state's emergency funding as already been spent, just one month into a new fiscal year.

Fire crews as far away as the East Coast are coming to help battle 17 large wildfires, which already have 12,000 firefighters on the lines.

Cal Fire said the fires, which have burned about almost 240,000 acres, have destroyed more than 1,000 structures and are threatening 25,000 homes. More than 52,000 residents have been evacuated.

One of the largest fires is the Carr Fire, which has killed six people, including two firefighters, and forced more than 39,000 people from their homes, making the blaze one of the most destructive in the state's history. It's burning near the northern California city of Redding. At least 19 people are missing in Shasta County, officials said at a community meeting Monday evening.

As of Monday evening, the fire had burned roughly 104,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,100 structures, including more than 800 homes. Another 4,000 homes are at risk, Cal Fire said in its most recent update Monday night.

Firefighters gained some ground Monday containing the fire, which has grown into the state's seventh-most destructive. It is now about a quarter contained, up from 20 percent earlier. It was just 5 percent contained late Sunday.

Forecasters said conditions will be difficult Tuesday due to increasing winds, hot and dry weather, steep terrain and excess vegetation.

More than 3,600 fire personnel, 334 fire engines and 17 helicopters are involved in fighting the Carr Fire.

Officials have identified some of the victims -- including fire inspector Jeremy Stoke, bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith, resident Melody Bledsoe and her two great-grandchildren. Bledsoe and the children died after they became trapped in their burning house. The sixth victim was not immediately named.

Two other people died while crews were battling the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park. At a news conference Monday, officials grieved the death of Capt. Brian Hughes, who was struck by a tree over the weekend. The 33-year-old was a firefighter of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots.

Braden Varney, 36, a heavy fire equipment operator, died July 14 while battling the blaze. </s> Carr Fire - Cal Fire and Fire Depts. in the northern California get together to fire the Carr Fire on Thursday morning. The fire continues to move east from Old Shasta all the way to Iron Mountain Road this morning. (Special to the Record Searchlight by photo by Hung T. Vu)

REDDING, Calif. – A wildfire raging in Northern California exploded in size overnight and continued its swift march toward heavily populated areas Thursday, killing at least one person and consuming nearly 45 square miles by late afternoon, fire officials said.

A bulldozer operator, who was hired privately, was killed in the blaze while at least three firefighters and an unknown number of civilians were injured with burns, said Cal Fire spokesman Scott McLean.

The Carr Fire raged northeast and burned through Shasta and Keswick toward Redding and Shasta Dam.

Officials issued evacuation orders to more than 2,200 residents west and north of Redding.

McLean said the situation was chaotic as residents had little warning to flee the area.

At least 15 structures were destroyed and five more damaged, according to Cal Fire. It was not immediately clear where they were located.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials and Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said numerous homes had burned in the Keswick and Shasta areas.

As of Thursday afternoon the fire had consumed 28,763 acres. It was considered 10 percent contained.

California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in all of Shasta County due to the Carr Fire and other fires in the area. Sheriff Tom Bosenko also declared a local state of emergency.

Mike Hebrard, Shasta County fire chief, said winds pushed the Carr Fire northeast toward Shasta Dam.

"The fire right now, to the north, is essentially running toward Shasta Dam," Hebrard said in a mid-day press conference.

More: Yosemite fire: What we know about the Ferguson Fire near the national park

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said the fire had shut down the Sacramento River Trail because trail users on the western edge near Keswick were in danger.

Highway 299 west of Buenaventura Boulevard was closed and most roads west of that intersection were also closed. Most residents west of that intersection were ordered to evacuate.

On Thursday, fire crews focused on keeping the fire from jumping Iron Mountain Road in the Keswick area, battling to prevent it from moving closer to Redding.

Carr Fire - Cal Fire and Fire Depts. in the northern California get together to fire the Carr Fire on Thursday morning. The fire continues to move east from Old Shasta all the way to Iron Mountain Road this morning. (Special to the Record Searchlight by photo by Hung T. Vu)

“We are trying to cut it off on Iron Mountain Road and keep it north, away from the city,” Hebrard said. “So if we can get that today, that’s a big win.”

The weather, however, will continue to be a challenge for firefighters.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning Thursday, as the temperature reached a hot, sticky and smoky 112 degrees. The high was expected to reach 110 Friday and 109 Saturday and Sunday, forecasters said.

Authorities urged residents to evacuate when they are told and pack clothes, important documents, medicines, cellphone chargers and other materials. Be prepared to be away from home for two to three days, Bosenko said.

“People who refuse to evacuate not only put themselves and family in danger, they are putting fire personnel in danger,” Bosenko said.

As of Thursday, there were no reported injuries or fatalities from the fire.

The sheriff’s office sent out evacuation notices to more than 600 homes, which includes an estimated 2,200 residents, Bosenko said.

Cody McCoy said he was packed up and ready to go. He said he was up all night Wednesday watching the fire from his rooftop.

Carr Fire - Cal Fire and Fire Depts. in the northern California get together to fire the Carr Fire on Thursday morning. The fire continues to move east from Old Shasta all the way to Iron Mountain Road this morning. (Special to the Record Searchlight by photo by Hung T. Vu)

His street was under an evacuation order, but McCoy said he was waiting until the last moment to leave.

Meanwhile, Oak Bottom Marina on Whiskeytown Lake was destroyed.

“The only buildings left standing are the fire station and a couple of restrooms,” Hebrard said. “The concession stands are burned up.”

About 40 boats at the marina were destroyed, he said. Others were released from their moorings and set adrift on the lake.

What caused the fire to explode

Hebrard said the fire took off Wednesday night, spotting up to half a mile ahead of the main inferno. The fire was pushed by wind being sucked in from the coast, he said.

“What we have is a condition here where it’s 110 degrees in the valley; it’s 60 degrees on the coast. The hot air rises, the air sucks in and those are the winds we are getting about 7 to 8 o’clock every night. And it is pushing that fire basically to the east, to the north,” Hebrard said.

“So the fire right now to the north is essentially running toward the dam, Shasta Dam,” he said. </s> (Reuters) - One person was killed in a rapidly moving wildfire that sent residents fleeing from a northern California city on Friday as flames burned homes and businesses and knocked out power, fire officials said.

A bulldozer operator was killed in the so-called Carr Fire, a blaze in Shasta County that has tripled in size in the last two days to 28,000 acres (11,300 hectares), the state’s forestry and fire protection department said.

The blaze has crossed the Sacramento River and now threatens hundreds of homes on the western fringes of the city of Redding, fire officials said.

“The fire is moving so fast that law enforcement is doing evacuations as fast as we can. There have been some injuries to civilians and firefighters,” California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott McLean told the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

“It’s way too dynamic and burning quickly.”

Local and state fire officials were not available to confirm details of injuries.

Roads out of the city of 90,000 people were jammed with motorists trying to escape the flames, social media postings showed.

More than 1,700 firefighters were battling the blaze, Cal Fire said in an evening advisory.

“Right now they’re doing what they can, they’re trying to make a stand where they can, if possible,” McLean said. “It’s extreme. It’s blowing up off and on again.”

McLean added the wildfire was in an area of rolling hills and not in “house-to-house neighborhoods.”

Multiple power outages were reported, the city said on its website, adding that the electric utility was shutting off power in its northern areas.

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta and Riverside Counties on Thursday over the Carr and Cranston fires, which were being supercharged by temperatures above 100 degrees F (37 C), erratic winds and low humidity. </s> The setting sun obscured by smoke from t the Carr Fire in Redding, Calif., July 31, 2018. The fire has killed at least six people and displaced tens of thousands thus far. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times)

Signs of encouragement for first responders is hung on a city in Redding, Calif., July 31, 2018. A wildfire, named the Carr fire, has killed at least six people and displaced tens of thousands thus far around Redding. (Jim Wilson/The New York Times) less

Signs of encouragement for first responders is hung on a city in Redding, Calif., July 31, 2018. A wildfire, named the Carr fire, has killed at least six people and displaced tens of thousands thus far around ... more

Firefighters try to control a back burn as the Carr fire continues to spread towards the towns of Douglas City and Lewiston near Redding, California on July 31, 2018. Two firefighters were killed fighting the blaze and three people, a 70 year old woman and her two great-grandchildren age four and five, perished when their Redding home was rapidly swallowed up by flames. / AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTONMARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images less

Firefighters try to control a back burn as the Carr fire continues to spread towards the towns of Douglas City and Lewiston near Redding, California on July 31, 2018. Two firefighters were killed fighting the ... more

Firefighters gather as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) less

Firefighters gather as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's ... more

People visit a memorial for Jeremy Stoke of the Redding Fire Department near where he was killed in the Carr Fire, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher)

This Thursday, June 26, 2018, photo released by Casey Lansdon shows Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke in Redding, Calif. A wildfire roared with little warning into the Northern California city as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday. Stoke was killed in the blaze. (Casey Lansdon via AP) less

This Thursday, June 26, 2018, photo released by Casey Lansdon shows Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke in Redding, Calif. A wildfire roared with little warning into the Northern California city as thousands of ... more

From left, Shasta County Health and Human Services workers Mike Rinehart, Jon Taylor, Melanie Gilchrist and Theresa Ellis stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) less

From left, Shasta County Health and Human Services workers Mike Rinehart, Jon Taylor, Melanie Gilchrist and Theresa Ellis stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in ... more

Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week in the Carr Fire, was being taken from the coroner's office to a funeral home. Fire officials say a massive blaze in Northern California that has killed six people and torched more than 1,000 homes grew overnight, fueled by wind. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) less

Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Stoke, who died last week ... more

Gary Parmely, father of Jeremy Stoke of the Redding Fire Department, visits a memorial for his son who was killed in the Carr Fire.

Death came in an instant. And as never seen before in California history.

The Redding firefighter who died on July 26 as the fast-growing Carr Fire hit its apex was in fact killed by a fire tornado, the most intense tornado ever in the state, according to a report The Chronicle obtained Wednesday.

The monster tornado with a base the size of three football fields and winds up to 165 miles an hour swept down upon Jeremiah “Jeremy” Stoke in mere seconds, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection report.

At 7:39 p.m. the longtime Redding Fire Department veteran was driving his Ford F-150 truck down Buenaventura Road in northwest Redding, working on evacuating residents. One minute later he radioed out a “mayday” call saying he was getting burned over, and then his transmissions abruptly stopped, according to Cal Fire’s Green Sheet, the agency’s report on serious injuries and accidents.

Fire dispatchers desperately tried to find him by “pinging” his cell phone. One Cal Fire supervisor, leading evacuees as he went, drove north on Buenaventura toward where Stoke, a 37-year-old fire inspector, had been headed. There was no sign of him.

The blazes all around continued so savagely that his body wasn’t located until early the next morning by Redding fire crews. He was among six firefighters killed this year as they fought or responded to California’s historic wildfires. That’s made this the most lethal season for fire crews since 2008.

Meanwhile, the tornado was so ferocious it pulsed with 2,700 degrees of heat. It ripped roofs off houses and flung cars, power line towers and a steel shipping container into the air — all within a half-mile of the spot where Stoke was believed to have been trapped, according to the report. The phenomenon, exploding in the middle of what was already a gigantic, devastating wildfire, was so unusual even Cal Fire investigators are still struggling to understand it.

“Observations from witnesses and other evidence suggest that either several fire tornadoes occurred at different locations and times, or one fire tornado formed and then periodically weakened and strengthened causing several separate damage areas,” the report said.

Regardless of those specifics, the sight alone of the tornado that overwhelmed Stoke was awful. Several videos included in the Green Sheet show a terrifying, huge funnel dwarfing houses and fields as it shoves its swirling, flame-filled clouds high into the air. One video shows a tornado skipping along the water’s surface at Keswick Dam.

Stoke was well familiar with the dangers of out-of-control wildfires. But this tornado, the report and experts say, was unlike anything experienced before in California — quick, hot, huge and unpredictable.

UC Berkeley forensics Professor George Sensabaugh told The Chronicle that given the ruthlessness of the tornado, there was probably little Stoke could have done to save himself.

“I haven’t heard of anything quite like that,” he said, adding that some aspects of the tornado remind him of the historic bombing in World War II that destroyed the German city of Dresden. “I can’t imagine that he would have had a chance with no real advance warning.”

The report says that a Cal Fire captain noticed the twister near Buenaventura, looking north from Land Park, at 7:38 p.m. One minute later was when Stoke was driving along that road, and at 7:40 p.m. was when his “mayday” call went out.

“It’s pretty chilling when you look at the narrative,” said Jonathan Cox, a Cal Fire battalion chief who has read the report. “How quickly this tornado went from being dangerous to being just extreme and overwhelming was astounding. It’s something we’ve never seen before.”

At the time Stoke died, the Carr Fire had already burned 29,000 acres, dozens of homes and sent thousands of people fleeing for their lives. As of Wednesday evening, the blaze had destroyed 1,077 homes and charred 214,527 acres. It was 69 percent contained.

The Green Sheet also details the death that same evening of 81-year-old contract bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith of Pollock Pines (El Dorado County), and the harrowing escapes of fire crews and other dozer operators in the area where Stoke died.

Smith was helping cut a fire line near Spring Creek Reservoir at around 5:45 p.m. when flames surrounded him, according to the report. He radioed back that he couldn’t make it back to where he’d departed “because he was cut off by the fire, and he would push down instead,” the report said, and between 5:46 and 5:50 p.m. he requested water drops from firefighting aircraft and said he was “attempting to make a safety zone.”

Four Cal Fire helicopters began dumping water at 5:50 p.m. through heavy smoke into the location where they thought Smith was. The blaze was too intense to send in ground crews right away, the report said, and at 6:10 p.m. crew leaders told their division supervisor that Smith had been burned over.

The flames backed off enough by 7 p.m. for a crew to head down the fire line and confirm that Smith was dead.

The report does not assess blame, but it does offer cautions for the future — such as fleeing fire tornadoes upon sight.

Cox said the advice is wise, and the grief over the death of colleagues is nearly unfathomable. The probability of the future is that things will remain grim.

“It’s the trend we have now — larger, more damaging fires, and more and more of them,” he said. “The conditions are unrelenting.” </s> (Reuters) - More than 200 people were missing early on Monday in California’s deadliest and most destructive blaze on record, one of two fires raging in the state which have killed at least 31 people and forced more than a quarter of a million evacuations.

The so-called Camp Fire 40 miles northwest of Sacramento burned down more than 6,700 homes and businesses in the town of Paradise, more structures than any other wildfire recorded in California.

The fire had burned more than 111,000 acres and was 25 percent contained by late Sunday, officials said. Its death toll of 29 now equals that of the Griffith Park Fire in 1933, the deadliest wildfire on record in California.

At least 228 people were still missing, according to Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea.

In southern California, the Woolsey Fire has scorched at least 85,500 acres and destroyed 177 structures. The blaze was only 15 percent contained. At least two people have died in that fire, according to officials from the statewide agency Cal Fire.

The blaze has forced the authorities to issue evacuation orders for a quarter million people in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and beachside communities including the Malibu beach colony.

Celebrities at the People’s Choice Awards Sunday night in Santa Monica, Ca., asked for prayers and donations for residents and first responders.

Reality television star Kim Kardashian said, ‘It’s been a really rough week in our home in Calabasas, Hidden Hills and our neighbors in Thousand Oaks and Malibu.”

Actor Melissa McCarthy said, “Please keep the victims, volunteers and firefighters in your thoughts.” She also asked people to donate to the Los Angeles fire Department Foundation.

Hot, dry winds were expected to whip up the fires burning in both tinder-dry southern and northern California until Tuesday, officials said.

“Winds are already blowing,” Chief Daryl Osby of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Sunday. “They are going to blow for the next three days. Your house can be rebuilt but you can’t bring your life back.”

Governor Jerry Brown asked U.S. President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster to bolster the emergency response and help residents recover.

Trump has criticized the California government in Tweets this weekend, blaming poor forest management for the infernos.
Officials lift all mandatory evacuation orders for the deadly Carr Fire in Northern California that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people.