UPDATE: Aug. 24, 9:00 p.m. ... Firefighters are now in mop-up operations on the Mountain fire, about 15 miles northeast of Redding. After growing rapidly in its first day, the fire was held at 600 acres. It's now 70 percent contained.
All evacuations and road closures have been lifted and the evacuation center at Crosspointe Community Church in Redding is now closed.
The final damage count includes seven homes and sevel other structures were destroyed and five homes and two other structures were damaged. There were three minor injuries reported.
UPDATE: Aug.23, 8:30 p.m. ... Fire crews have held the Mountain fire northeast of Redding, California at 600 acres. The fire is now 50 percent contained. Seven homes have been confirmed destroyed by the fire, and four more damaged. Nine outbuildings have been damaged or destroyed, as well.
As of 8 p.m., PG&E says it has restored power to nearly all the residences in the Jones Valley and Bella Vista areas.
More evacuation orders and road closures have been lifted.
Shasta College main campus will be open Saturday.
The evacuation center at Crosspointe Community Church in Redding remains open.
UPDATE: Aug. 23, 8:30 a.m. ... A wildfire in Shasta County's Jones Valley area, about 15 miles northeast of Redding, has burned three homes and led to road closures and evacuations. As of now, what is being called the Mountain fire is estimated to have burned about 600 acres and is 40 percent contained.
The fire spread rapidly yesterday afternoon, but by evening moderating winds had given fire crews a chance to make progress on containing it.
Firefighters made good progress overnight preventing additional growth of the fire and increasing containment. The north side of the fire presents the biggest challenge due to the possibility of increased south winds and steep, rugged terrain.
The Shasta County Sheriff has re-opened SR 299, but other local roads remain closed. Power had been cut off from much of the area but was expected to be restored by 8:00 Friday morning. Some evacuations were cancelled, as well. The main campus of Shasta College, which was evacuated yesterday afternoon, will remain closed, but classes will be held at the dowtown and Tehama County locations.
The evacuation center at Crosspointe Community Church in Redding remains open.
An earlier estimate put the fire as having burned 820 acres, but CalFire revised that number by Thursday evening.
ORIGINAL POST: Aug, 22, 5:30 p.m. ... The fire was reported at about 11:00 a.m. as being 10 acres. Northerly winds fanned the flames and soon threatened buildings. The Shasta County Sheriff's Office quickly closed roads and urged residents to evacuate the Jones Valley and Bella Vista areas. Currently, State Route 299 is closed to westbound traffic at Deschutes Road and is closed to eastbound traffic at Old Oregon Trail. Other local roads are closed, as well.
An evacuation center was set up in the gymnasium of Shasta College. But by 1:15, Shasta College was itself evacuated. The evacuation center was relocated to Crosspointe Community Church in Redding.
Shasta County Sheriff's Lt. Anthony Bertain said in a statement released about 4:00 p.m. that 1,100 homes and other structures were threatened and that about 3,885 residents were evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
The Shasta County sheriff's Office has more road closure and evacuation information.
For assistance with animals, call the SHASCOM non-emergency dispatch line at 530-245-6540.
