BREAKING: Evacuations ordered for Salt Fire burning near Lakehead, north of Redding

UPDATED: Wednesday, June 30, 8:35 p.m., With additional size, containment details.

SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. — The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office has just confirmed that evacuations are now being ordered for some residents, while other area residents are being asked to shelter in place – at least for the time being. At around 8 p.m., fire officials estimated that the blaze had consumed approximately 1,000 acres with no containment.

Meanwhile, the massive and continuing to grow Lave Fire, which is burning northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County near Hotlum and Lumm roads, has consumed more than 17,500 acres and stands at less than 20% containment as of this morning. Although that blaze has forced the evacuation orders of thousands of Siskiyou County residents in the fire’s path as the days-old wildland fire has continued to explode in size, firefighters overnight “made good progress on the western edge of the fire, cutting off progression into the communities,” Shasta-Trinity National Forest said in a statement this morning.

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Now estimated at more than 1,000 acres, the Salt Fire is continuing to burn unabated according to the Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service; who have said they received the first reports of a vegetation fire burning off of Gilman and Coral Creek roads, north of the cities of Redding Shasta Lake at around 1:56 p.m. this afternoon, Wednesday, June 30.

A firefighting plane is seen dropping retardant on the still-growing Salt Fire, burning north of Redding near Lakehead, in Shasta County. Jeremy Tuggle/SCNS photo

CAL FIRE is assisting with the blaze, according to a tweet that explained the agency was working under the direction of Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service.

As details continue to flood in regarding the vegetation fire, Caltrans District 2 has closed the third lane at Gilman Road on I-5 north in Lakehead due to the still-growing blaze. The northbound and southbound off-ramps at Salt Creek Road have also been closed.

Additionally, the sheriff’s office said in a tweet this afternoon that an evacuation center is being established at Central Valley High School.

Evacuations and Road Closures

  • Evacuation orders for Antlers View Road and Toms Head Road.
  • Evacuation orders for Zola Drive, Cordes Court and Solus Campground Road.
  • Evacuation orders for Tom Head Road and Old Mill Road.
  • Evacuation warnings have begun to be issued for the Lakehead area east of Interstate 5 to Riverview Drive.
  • Residents on Gregory Creek Road are asked to shelter in place or go to Gregory Creek Beach.

The following links can be checked regularly for up to the minute updates regarding this fire:

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Jeremy Tuggle/SCNS reporter-contributor photos above, video below.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.

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