California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday issued new disaster declarations in response to three destructive fires burning around the state.
The governor’s proclamations covered the Carr fire in Shasta County, the Ferguson fire in Mariposa County and the Cranston fire in Riverside County.
All of the incidents have burned structures and caused evacuations, and on Thursday Cal Fire confirmed that a dozer operator was killed while fighting the Carr fire near Redding.
The Ferguson fire was 44,223 acres and 27-percent contained on Thursday night, while the Cranston fire was at 7,500 acres and 5 percent containment, Cal Fire said.
The Carr fire, caused by a vehicle, reached 28,763 acres and 6-percent containment on Thursday night. Cal Fire said it has so far destroyed 15 structures and damaged five more, with nearly 500 more structures were in its path at that time.
Officials through the night were widening the evacuation area, with four evacuation centers – one as far away as Corning – opening up as residents fled, causing Interstate 5 to slow to a crawl. The entire community of French Gulch is under evacuation order.
Cal Fire said the fire became very active throughout the day on Thursday, as firefighters worked aggressively to build containment lines around it.
Those efforts were hampered on Thursday due to extreme fire behavior and unfavorable weather conditions, and Cal Fire said hot and dry weather is forecast to continue.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District said Thursday that the smoke making its way into the local air basin came primarily from the Carr fire, as Lake County News has reported.
In other fire news, in Hopland in Mendocino County, firefighters responded to the eight-acre McNab fire, in the area of Valley View Road and McNab Ranch Road.
By Thursday night, the fire was 20-percent contained, with no structures damaged or threatened, Cal Fire said.
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072618 Carr fire map by LakeCoNews on Scribd