Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

Rural communities in far Northern California have been told to evacuate in the face of a wildfire that started on Saturday at around 11:30 AM, after lightning strikes in the area, and has since destroyed four homes and around 19 square miles near the towns of Manton, Shingletown, and Viola, according to fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. As the fire spreads along the border of Tehama and Shasta counties, about 3,500 homes are threatened. By this afternoon NO part of the blaze was contained, and the fire was growing. (Note added August 20, 2012: This fire is now called the “Ponderosa Fire.”)

“A good majority are immediately threatened, and a good number are in the path of the fire,” Berlant said Sunday. “We will be battling it hard today to protect as many of those homes as possible.”

The Shasta County Sheriff’s Department has declared a State of Emergency for the county and has closed some roads, with evacuations expected to continue through today. An evacuation center has been set up by the Red Cross in Redding, which is about 35 miles to the west of the fire. I just looked, and at 7 PM PDT, the temperature is STILL 99 degrees in Redding, with 100 degrees forcast for tomorrow. The fire, about 170 miles north of Sacramento in a rugged area of thick forests, is only one of a FEW new fires in Northern California.

A lightning-sparked fire that started yesterday has engulfed about 1.5 square miles east of the Mendocino County community of Covelo, in a rugged and relatively inaccessible area. A third fire has burned about 1/2 square mile in Shasta County.

A huge fire in the Plumas National Forest, about 120 miles north of Sacramento, has consumed almost 70 square miles since it started on July 29 and continues to threaten about 900 homes. Full containment is not expected until August 31, since the fire is only 38% contained now, and strong winds have pushed the flames past fire lines on the fire’s northeast edge.

Another fire, in Lassen Volcanic National Park is now 51% contained after burning more than 43 square miles. Officials expect to contain the fire by Tuesday.

-Bill at

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