30-acre fire in Redding forces neighborhood evacuations

A wildfire started in north Redding on Sunday, growing to more than 30 acres, forcing neighborhood evacuations and injuring at least one person and damaging at least one structure.

The Masonic Fire was first reported at 11:35 a.m. near the intersection of Lake Boulevard and Masonic Avenue in Redding, growing from 20 acres to 38 by 2 p.m., according to Redding Fire Department Deputy Chief Cullen Kreider.

The Redding Police Department issued evacuation orders for Barbara Road, Pearl Street, Nancy Court, neighborhoods north of Benton Drive to Lake Boulevard and west of Market Street.

After being closed for several hours, Market Street was reopened just before 2 p.m., but Benton Drive remained closed from Market Street to River Ridge, according to the Redding Police Department.

Another smaller fire, the 20-acre Tower Fire, was first reported near the intersection of Cloverdale Road and Clear Creek Road near Igo, just west of Redding, around 8 a.m. and by 9:49 a.m., it had been reduced to 12 acres and was 50 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

Cloverdale Road was closed between Placer Road and Clear Creek Road, according to Cal Fire Information Officer Scott McLean.

The two fires began after a Red Flag Warning was issued for Northern California and Pacific Gas and Electric said it may shut off power in some areas to prevent fire hazards.

This story was originally published October 14, 2018 at 12:19 PM with the headline "30-acre fire in Redding forces neighborhood evacuations."