UPDATE: According to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Savona, State Route 36 now has one-way traffic control in place and many resources have been released. PREVIOUSLY: A section of State Route 36 is being closed as firefighters respond to the report of a structure fire that is spreading into the vegetation along the roadway near […]
CalFIRE
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Mendo Complex Gets Containment Date, but no Estimate for Carr Fire
While a string of fires continue to burn to the north, south and east of Humboldt County, air quality is expected to be in the good to moderate stage although some inland areas, such as Garberville, will have “widespread haze,” according to the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District. Fire officials are now giving […]
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Fire Whirl in Carr Fire Reached 143 MPH
A fire whirl — similar to a tornado — that occurred in the Carr Fire near Redding on July 26 had maximum winds in excess of 143 mph, according to an initial analysis by the National Weather Service and Calfire. The column of fire produced by “intense rising heat and turbulent winds” was equivalent to […]
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As Carr Fire Threatens Redding, 299 Remains Closed, Smoke Advisories Issued
The Carr Fire continues to rage in Shasta County and has forced widespread evacuations in Redding. The fire, sparked July 23 by the mechanical failure of a vehicle near State Route 299 and Carr Powerhouse Road in Whiskeytown, now spans more than 44,000 acres and is only 3 percent contained. It has killed two people […]
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State Route 299 Closed at Whiskeytown Lake
Folks heading east to Redding have a slog ahead of them as State Route 299 is closed indefinitely in Trinity County west of Whiskeytown Lake due to a wildfire. CalTrans reports that the road is closed westbound at Oak Bottom and eastbound at the junction with State Route 3 near Douglas City. There is no […]
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Update: Highway 20 Back Open
UPDATE: Calfire states in a tweet that Highway 20 is now open after the Pawnee Fire forced closures: “The California Highway Patrol has removed the road closure at State Route 53 and State Route 20 in Lake County and at State Route 16 and State Route 20 in Colusa County. State Route 20 is open […]
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Humboldt Crews Battling Pawnee Fire Save Vineyard (Slideshow)
Some 2,700 firefighters from around the state, including the Humboldt County Strike Team, are battling the Pawnee Fire burning north of the Lake County community of Clearlake Oaks, which as of this morning was 25 percent contained with 13,500 acres burned, according to Calfire. To date, 22 structures have been destroyed in the fire that […]
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Lawsuit Settled, but HUMMAP Wants More
The suit the Humboldt-Mendocino Marijuana Advocacy Project brought against the county of Humboldt following its January adoption of a commercial medical marijuana ordinance was settled on July 5, but HuMMAP says there’s still much work left to be done. The suit, filed in February, was an attempt to “block the environmental damage” it saw as […]
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Rolled, Rocked and Raised
Journal contributor Jennifer Savage emceed this year’s Roll on the Mattole, the Honeydew Volunteer Fire Company’s annual fundraiser. Also in attendance was Journal staff writer — and Honeydew native — Linda Stansberry. Here’s their report from the day: LS: Honeydew is the BEST! Reporting done. Everyone go home and donate some money to the HVFC! JS: […]
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CALFIRE Academy: Drama, Trauma & Baby Dolls
CALFIRE’s third and final seasonal firefighter training of the year took place last week at the Hilkfiker Training Site. What are they training for? Everything. Literally every scenario that might require their response, from a burning school bus to running up six flights of stairs in full protective gear. On the day we visited, returning […]
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Fires in January
We’re not even 10 days into the New Year and, already, in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, at least 10 wildfires have sprouted in our tinder-dry January hills. January. Wildfires. “Yeah, crazy,” says Paul Duncan, battalion chief with CalFire’s Humboldt-Del Norte Unit emergency command center in Fortuna. This means, after an already smoke-filled summer and […]