New Fires Spreading In California - Wildfire Season Isn't Close To Being Over

Wildfire season isn't finished in California yet: New fires grow quickly and trigger evacuations near Redding, Bridgeport, Hyampon across Shasta County

The wildfire season has no end in California as new fires breaks out and grow rapidly across the state. Firefighters are battling a new round of wildfires in California even as battles against earlier fires continue to wind down.

1. Wildfire breaks out along I-5, grows quickly to 5,000+ acres, people abandon vehicles, near Redding

About 17 semitrailer trucks were abandoned on I-5, and at least four of them were on fire, said Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster of the California Highway Patrol’s Mount Shasta office. – CBS Sacramento

2. Boot fire breaks out, grows quickly to 3,000 acres, in Mono County near Bridgeport

The Boot Fire has burned about 6,873 acres in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. With the growth from 6700 acres, containment has dropped from 3% to 0% as of Friday morning.

• Highway 395 remains CLOSED from the junction of Eastside Lane and Highway 395 in Walker, California extending to the north end of Bridgeport, California.

• State Route 108 (Sonora Pass) remains closed to all east bound traffic to Kennedy Meadows.

• Mountain Warfare Training Center and Leavitt Meadows Pack Station is accessible to employees only. – KOLO TV

3. Kerlin fire breaks out and causes evacuations in Hyampon

The out-of-control Kerlin Fire jumped to 2,000 acres on Wednesday evening, forcing authorities to order residents in the blaze’s path to evacuate. Mandatory evacuations are in effect for residents living along Trinity County road 311 from Lake Mountain Ranch to Dead Man’s Point.

About 100 structures are in the fire area and remained threatened late Wednesday night. The human-caused fire is burning in steep terrain in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest west of Hyampom and is at zero percent containment. – Redding

4. Hirz fire grows to 46,150 acres in Shasta County

Crews continue to strengthen and hold control lines around the 46,150 acre Hirz Fire. Officials said the fire is 75 percent contained and several islands of vegetation within the perimeter started burning Wednesday. – KRCR TV

In 2018 to date, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has fought 4,587 fires blackening 612,710 acres, with six dead firefighters have died battling the blazes.

Amid a record year of wildfires, Cal Fire on Thursday asked lawmakers for another $234 million to keep the agency’s firefighting budget from being exhausted. Barely two months into the new fiscal year, Cal Fire has already spent $431 million fighting fires, he said, out of a total budget of $443 million. Another $234 million would increase the budget by about 50 percent. – Sacramento Bee