A wildfire bore into the western side of Redding, California, razing homes and sending dozens of residents fleeing the area, The Weather Channel reports.
The Carr Fire in Shasta County flared up Thursday night, killing a bulldozer operator and injuring three firefighters. The fire jumped the Sacramento River and burned through neighborhoods on Redding’s west side.
Some of the city’s 90,000 residents were also injured in the blaze, Cal Fire Chief Brett Gouvea said, according to The Sacremento Bee.
“We can confirm that we had additional firefighters and civilian injuries,” Gouvea said. “This fire is making a significant push into the northwest area of Redding … This fire is extremely dangerous and moving with no regard to what’s in its path.”
The Carr Fire exploded in size and intensity overnight. The fire had grown to more than 28,000 acres, about 44 square miles, by Thursday afternoon. By Friday morning, the fire had covered 75,000 acres, nearly 120 square miles.
Satellite data this morning shows the #CarrFire has now scorched 75,000 acres and has moved into the city of #Redding California pic.twitter.com/LmNhwBYKTw
— Brad Sowder (@TheBradSowder) July 27, 2018
Emergency officials have transitioned from containing and fighting the blaze to prioritizing evacuations for residents in the area and in immediate danger.
“Really we’re in a life-saving mode right now in Redding,” Cal Fire battalion chief Jonathan Cox told The Weather Channel. “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.”
Breaking: #CarrFire in Redding, California, has destroyed at least 15 homes and continues to spread. Parts of Redding, a city of nearly 95,000 people, are under evacuation orders. At least one person died from the fire and several injured. pic.twitter.com/kdLQHFf4bd
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) July 27, 2018
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