Evacuations being ordered for new wildfire burning in Northern California north of Redding

Evacuations are being ordered Wednesday as a new wildfire is burning in Northern California.

The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post evacuations are taking place in the Lakehead area. Forest Service officials said an evacuation warning is in place for that area east of Interstate 5 to Riverview Drive.

Shasta County deputies said the evacuation center is Central Valley High School on La Mesa Avenue in Shasta Lake.

The blaze, burning north of Redding, is being called the Salt Fire. U.S. Forest Service officials said the fire is burning east of Interstate 5 near the Salt Creek exit south of Lakehead.

The fire burned 200 acres and is at 0% containment moving north, Forest Service officials told The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday afternoon. By around 8:45 p.m., the fire’s size increased to 1,000 acres burned, according to a Forest Service incident overview.

Evacuations are also being ordered for Zola Drive, Cordes Court, Solus Campground Road, Tom Head and Old Mill Road, according to Shasta deputies. The Sheriff’s Office said residents of Gregory Creek Road should shelter in place or go to Gregory Creek Beach.

Officials added that an evacuation order is also in place for Antlers View and Toms Head roads.

Just after 7:30 p.m., evacuation orders were issued east of I-5 from Antlers Road to Riverview Drive, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Also, a evacuation warning was in effect west of the freeway from along Lakeshore Drive. The ramps from I-5 were closed shortly after 8 p.m.

Cal Fire’s Shasta Trinity Unit is also on the scene. Officials said a full fire response of engines, crews and aerial fire support are responding to the incident and additional resources are on order.

Caltrans said the No. 3 lane on Gilman Road is closed on northbound I-5 in Lakehead, and that both Salt Creek Road off-ramps will be closed as well.

This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 3:45 PM.