Forest Fire Near Redding Forces Evacuations

REDDING —  Firefighters gained the upper hand Sunday on a wildfire that scorched 2,000 acres, but a second blaze goaded by approaching dry winds forced the evacuation of 30 homes and had officials worried.

A forest fire seven miles west of downtown Redding had charred only 125 acres by Sunday afternoon, but about a dozen people camped out at a nearby school overnight after Shasta County sheriff’s officials ushered them out of bed.

No one was hurt and no structures were damaged in the fire, which was 50% contained by early Sunday afternoon, California Department of Forestry officials said.

The blaze began about 2:40 a.m. and was heading south into steep terrain with heavy brush cover. Authorities had not determined a cause.

Near Lewiston, a federal brush-thinning fire that roared out of control Friday and damaged two dozen homes was 70% contained. It had forced 500 people to flee.

Trinity County Supervisor Chris Erikson said Sunday that the investigation into how the controlled burn got out of hand “should include the chance that this is criminal misbehavior . . . considering the weather conditions and the wind conditions at the time.”

The Department of Forestry reiterated that it had already taken responsibility for the fire and that the burn was started with good intentions.

“It was being done as an environmental burn to get rid of star thistle, so they were doing it for a good reason,” said Department of Forestry spokeswoman Mickie Jakez.