REDDING, Calif. �� A devastating wildfire that has burned more than 500 structures and killed at least two people in Shasta County continued to spread Saturday, threatening new communities as firefighters struggled to keep up.
On Saturday morning, the Carr fire barreled toward the towns of Igo and Ono, prompting new evacuations. High temperatures in Redding were expected to hit 110 degrees Saturday and reach triple digits through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The challenges facing firefighters are among the most difficult they could encounter: steep terrain and hot weather combined with dry brush and other vegetation that can fuel a fire, said Greg Bertelli, an incident commander at Cal Fire.
"Any one of those factors will make containing a fire extremely difficult," Bertelli said. "The Carr fire, at times, experienced all three combined. This fire is moving, at times, three or four different directions."
The Carr fire swept into Redding Thursday night and has so far burned more than 80,000 acres, with only 5 percent containment, officials said. About 38,000 people were evacuated in Shasta County. About 5,000 structures are threatened.
The fire also has compromised the integrity of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, which spans Clear Creek in rural Igo, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Two children and their great grandmother whose home was destroyed in the fire were reported missing late Friday by a family friend, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Emily Roberts, 5, her brother, James, 4, and their 70-year-old great grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, haven't been seen since their Redding home burned Thursday night.
Donald Kewley, the boyfriend of Bledsoe's granddaughter, said he called Bledsoe's house late Thursday as the fire grew closer to the area.
"She was screaming, 'It's getting closer,' and you could hear the sirens," Kewley told the Chronicle. "Then the phone went dead."
Redding police confirmed that they had received a missing persons report on Bledsoe and the two children but could not comment on details because the Shasta County Sheriff's Department is the investigating agency.
In addition to the Bledsoe family, authorities are investigating 13 other missing persons cases connected to the fire.
Redding police Sgt. Todd Cogle said that some of those reported missing may have fled their homes without cellphones and be safe in evacuation centers or out of the area.
"My hope is that we are able to find all of them eventually. However, the possibility does exist that there may be far more grave situations for some of them," Cogle said.
At an evacuation center at Shasta College, far to the northeast of the city and away from the fire, ashes still floated down occasionally on the hundreds who had fled their homes.
The community college's gym, cooled with power from portable generators, was full of people. Many more who brought pets and weren't allowed inside camped in their cars in the parking lot or on cots laid out on one of the campus' open lawn areas.
News of the magnitude of the property damage was just filtering through the impromptu community of evacuees Friday evening.
Dena Balding and Claire Lillian were sharing a domed camping tent and preparing for their second straight night at the evacuation site.
"We might be here for days," Lillian said. A police officer drove her away from her apartment on Thursday night, as she had no other means of travel. She said she appreciated the efforts of first responders, as well as the services at the college being provided by the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross. "They're doing the best they can," she said.
Rory Gentry, who lives only blocks away from Lillian, stopped by to report that he had driven through their neighborhood on the northwest side of Redding and near some of the most heavily scorched areas.
He described ashes on the ground that were like new-fallen snow under his feet. "It's not looking good," Gentry said to the women.
Nearby, James Thayer was trying to settle in for a second night of sleep on an iron park bench. The shelters had only standard beds, and he said he needed a bariatric bed designed for heavy people.
"I'm tired," Thayer said as he wiped sweat from his brow with a cloth. "I only slept about 15 minutes last night."
Thayer's apartment complex remains deep inside the mandatory evacuation zone. And while he wished he wasn't preparing for a second night on a bench, at least it would be better than the night before.
"This time, they gave me all these blankets," he said with a slight smile.
In the River Ridge Park subdivision, Austin Bramson, 16, had spent months working with his father to restore a 1965 Chevrolet Nova. The classic car was almost finished, ready for the coat of paint to make it look new. They had to leave it behind in the garage as they evacuated.
"All that work _ gone," Austin said, almost in tears, as he looked over the shell of his home.
