LOS ANGELES — The raging Lava fire in Northern California grew to more than 17,000 acres by Wednesday morning, forcing thousands from their homes and offering a preview for the fire season ahead.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the scene Tuesday and was set to brief President Joe Biden about California’s critical fire dangers and needs. The state has been devastated by fire the last few years, with 2020 being the worst fire year on record.
It’s still early in the season, which tends to hit California the hardest in the summer and fall. But extreme heat created conditions for several fires to explode this week.
The lightning-sparked Lava fire, in a fairly remote part of Siskiyou County, forced the evacuation of at least 8,000 residents Monday afternoon as gusty red flag conditions fueled the searing flames.
The fire, which started Friday, was 19% contained, with the National Weather Service tweeting that smoke from the area could carry over to Medford, Oregon.
Adrienne Freeman, a spokesperson for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, told the Los Angeles Times that after pouring thousands of gallons of water on the fire, officials had not been able to detect any more heat and had “no indication to continue suppression actions.”
But it rekindled shortly afterward, then exploded.
“It does happen,” she said. “It’s not terribly common.”
Deputies with the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office shot and killed a man they said opened fire on them in an evacuation zone of the Lava fire, authorities said.
Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue told the Sacramento Bee that officers tried to prevent the man from driving into the Mount Shasta Vista subdivision on Highway 97 north of Weed after it had been evacuated due to the fire Monday evening.
Siskiyou County was also battling the Tennant fire, which began Monday evening and by Tuesday evening had grown to 6,000 acres and was 0% contained, according to Kimberly DeVall, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service.
The Willow fire in Los Padres National Forest ignited June 18. As of Tuesday morning, it was holding steady at 2,877 acres and 87% containment, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Lynn Olson said.
