A wildfire in the midst of a lingering heat wave gripping California has alarmed authorities, prompted mandatory evacuations and spread rapidly in the state’s rural north Friday.
The Mill Fire spread to more than 900 acres after being reported at 12:49 p.m. near the city of Weed’s fire department, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Calfire.
Firefighters so far had no containment, Calfire said.
The blaze sent a plume of ominous smoke above the area, which is 55 miles south of the McKinney Fire. That blaze claimed four lives last month and is now 99 percent contained, according to federal officials.
The Mill Fire prompted mandatory evacuations for the communities of Weed, Lake Shastina and Edgewood, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office.
The California Department of Transportation said Highway 97 in the area of the fire was closed.
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The office used the National Weather Service to spread word of the mandatory evacuations for areas near Weed. The county abuts Oregon.
The McKinney Fire, the state’s largest of the year, burned through 60,138 acreas and wasn’t expected to be fully contained until Oct. 1, according to its federal incident report from forest officials.
The blaze near Weed erupted amid a National Weather Service red flag warning for the uppermost reaches of California as well as for southwest Oregon, where multiple fires were reported.
The afternoon temperature in Weed was 91 degrees with low humidity, but with very low wind speed reported, according to the weather service. A red flag warning, when any minor ignition can feasibly start a wildfire, is the National Weather Service’s highest-level alert for residents. It denotes warm temperatures, low humidity, and stronger winds.
The Cedar Creek fire in near the small Oregon city of Oakridge was at 9,199 acres Friday, with 12 percent of it surrounded, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
It was started Aug. 1 by lightning, officials said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
