Evacuation orders have been issued for areas south of Highway 44 in the Shingletown area, as the Park Fire has reached nearly 240,000 acres and continues to churn north toward Shasta County.
Earlier Friday evening, evacuation warnings were extended to the Shingletown area from Black Butte Road on the west to Viola on the east, according to the sheriff's office. An evacuation warning extended to areas north of Shingletown, according to the sheriff's office.
Wilson Hill Road in Shingletown was closed south of Highway 44 at Woodridge Road, according to emergency scanner traffic. The fire has reportedly crossed Highway 36 in the area of Paynes Creek, about 20 miles east of Red Bluff.Also Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an emergency due to the damage caused by the massive blaze.
The fire, which started Wednesday in Butte County, has burned northward, forcing Lassen Volcanic National Park to evacuate, and Manton residents have also been ordered to evacuate.
Officials at Lassen park started evacuating the park’s headquarters in Mineral on Friday afternoon as the Park Fire made its way up Highway 36 toward Lassen’s south entrance.Park spokeswoman Sierra Coon said the park headquarters is about 7 miles from Lassen’s south entrance. She did not know how far the northeastern tip of the Park Fire was from the headquarters.
With the fire heading toward Lassen, Coon said the park will be closed this weekend because the road through Lassen will be used to evacuate people out of the area.“Our original plan was to let the visitors taper off and to cancel upcoming reservations,” Coon said. “Now we have changed that to a mandatory evacuation and letting everybody know that is time to go. We are still waiting for the official go ahead from the director of the National Park Service. But we are headed that way.”Coon said that Highway 89 will only be open to through traffic in the park because it will be used as "an evacuation route for communities to the south of the park.”
The Park Fire had burned nearly 240,000 acres as of early Friday evening and burned 134 structures. It was zero percent contained.As the fire continued to churn north, the Tehama County Sheriff's Office issued an urgent evacuation warning Friday afternoon for residents in the Manton area, Sky Ranch and Paynes Creek along Highway 36. Fire crews reported the fire making runs northward toward Highway 36 Friday afternoon east of Paynes Creek.
"The fire is moving north. Get to a safe location. A Red Cross shelter is being set up at the Los Molinos Vets Hall, 7980 Sherwood Blvd. and should be fully open by 5 p.m.," the sheriff's office said. The Park Fire had skirted east of Los Molinos as of Friday afternoon.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office had issued an evacuation warning for the Shasta County side of Manton. But those had been upgraded after 6 p.m. to orders. Crews were also being sent to put in fire line in the Mineral area in eastern Tehama County on Friday night.
A 42-year-old Chico man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection to the fire, which started in Upper Bidwell Park in Chico. The Butte County District Attorney's Office said the man slid a burning car down into a canyon into the park, igniting the area and setting off the Park Fire.The fire is making a trek similar to the massive Dixie Fire in 2021, when that fire burned about 70% of Lassen Park.
The Dixie Fire is the second-largest single fire in state history, burning 963,309 acres. The fire started in the Feather River Canyon southeast of Chico, near where the 2018 Camp Fire ignited.
The fire leveled the historic Gold-Rush era town of Greenville in Plumas County and threatened other mountain communities. It destroyed 1,329 structures in five northern counties, including Shasta and Tehama.
Coon said about 30 people will be evacuated from the park’s headquarters.
“We are also working on removing the historical artifacts that are in the park,” Coon said.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on X, formerly Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
