Homes, thousands of marijuana greenhouses threatened by Lava Fire in Northern California
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A fire in far Northern California is threatening homes, a massive complex of marijuana grows and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people north of the Siskiyou County city of Weed.
The Lava Fire ignited when lightning struck Friday morning on U.S. Forest Service land in what the agency described on a fire information website as “rough, rocky terrain” 3.5 miles northeast of the city of Weed and 4.5 miles southeast of Lake Shastina.
The fire on Monday morning was estimated at 1,446 acres and 20 percent contained, but pushed by gusting winds, the fire grew substantially by the afternoon, prompting the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office to issue an evacuation order.
The order included the town of Lake Shastina, home to nearly 3,000 people, and much of the Big Springs area where an estimated 4,000 to 8,000 people live tending 5,000 to 6,000 marijuana grow sites.
Highway 97 was closed from Weed north approximately 30 miles, according to the Shasta Trinity National Forest.
It’s not clear if any homes or other buildings have burned. A Forest Service spokeswoman said updated information on damage and acreage would be provided later Monday evening.
Steve Griset, a hay and alfalfa farmer in the Big Springs area, said in a phone interview the good news is the wind appeared this afternoon to shift the fire away from the populated areas, but he’s not taking any chances.
“It’s pretty gnarly,” he said. “We’re moving stuff around, and moving hay and getting stuff ready.”
The Red Cross has opened an evacuation shelter at Jackson Street Elementary School, 405 Jackson St. in Yreka.
The area had only recently recovered from the September 2014 Boles Fire, which burned more than 150 homes and buildings in the city of Weed. Ronald Beau Marshall was convicted for starting that fire. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was released in 2016.
This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 5:18 PM.