As of Thursday evening, the Fawn Fire burning near Redding has spread to 5, 500 acres, the Cal Fire’s recent update said.
After it started on Wednesday evening, the fire had grown and was only at 5 percent containment.
“I would call it extreme,” said Cal Fire spokesperson Robert Foxworthy at 1:30 in the afternoon, Thursday. “The fire is still on the east side of I-5. The fire is in steep rugged terrain and starting to burn in amongst some homes. The biggest threat would be along Old Oregon Trail and Bear Mountain Road area.”
“There are quite a few mandatory evacuations, and they’re coming out continuously. I would advise people to look at the latest information from the sheriff’s department,” Foxworthy added.
On Thursday afternoon, officials announced in a statement that a Palo Alto woman, 30, had been arrested on charges related to the blaze.
Reports of ash sprinkling from the sky in Redding were received Thursday afternoon as the fire is at its height. “The #FawnFire is plain scary-looking right now, and dropping burned leaves and ash in our yard,” a Redding resident expressed through Twitter.
“In Redding, right off the twin view blvd exit. #FawnFire is very close to us and it’s getting scary,” another Twitter user said.
The Cal Fire said that the blaze was first reported at Fawndale Road and Radcliff Road on Wednesday afternoon before it grew quickly.
The first evacuations were released for Mountain Gate by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday morning. It was followed by more evacuation orders covering the whole of Holiday Road, all roads north of Old Oregon Trail, and east of Interstate 5 on Thursday afternoon.
The blaze, according to the Cal Fire, has ignited in a far canyon in a property entered through the JF Shea and Mountain Gate Quarries. A female was reported by the employees to have trespassed and “acting irrationally” before the fire broke out, SFGATE reported.
Later, she was found going out of the brush and complaining that she was dehydrated.
