Fawn fire grows rapidly in Shasta County threatening thousands
The new fire in Shasta County grew rapidly.
Photo: David McNew / Getty Images
About 4, 04 residents of Shasta County in Northern California were told to evacuate their homes due to the fire forest north of Redding which has already destroyed 80 structures.
# FawnFire . The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office has issued a mandatory evacuation order for all roads east of Interstate 5, north of Old Oregon Trail all the way north to Shasta Lake. Residents must evacuate immediately. pic.twitter.com/Ishah3Xl0Y
The Fawn fire ignited Wednesday afternoon in the Fawndale and Radcliff Highways area, per Cal Fire.
A woman from 30 year old Palo Alto was arrested Wednesday and is suspected of causing the fire, after walking through bushes, near where a forest fire was burning in the area, reported KCRA.
The “responsible person is under custody, ”Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett said at a news conference Friday in which she announced the arson charges against Alexandra Souverneva . She said the suspect may be related to other fires in the county and potentially in other parts of California.
A growing army of firefighters fought against the Fawn Fire flames advance to northwest Redding, making some progress and preventing any further destruction as the fire closed at 7, 000 acres, according to KPIX.
Capt.Chris Harvey of the Sacramento City Fire Department, who was serving as Cal Fire’s public information officer on the incident, said a total of 1, 663 Firefighters are assigned to this fire.
Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that the state has secured federal emergency funding to increase the resources available to fight the Fawn fire.
Statewide, more than 9, 000 firefighters remained assigned to 10 forest fires large and active , according to Cal Fire.
