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REDDING, Calif. (KCRA) — A large fire whirl that developed last week in Redding as a wildfire moved through the city created winds equivalent to an EF-3 tornado, the National Weather Service-Sacramento said Thursday. NWS and a Cal Fire Serious Accident Review Team conducted a damage survey, which preliminarily found that the whirl reached maximum wind speeds exceeding 143 mph. The whirl was produced between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on July 26 as the wildfire burning in Shasta County moved into the city. The Carr Fire, which ignited July 23 in Whiskeytown near Highway 299, has claimed six lives...

As firefighters continued to gain ground on the massive Carr Fire in Northern California and the Ferguson Fire to the south that has threatened Yosemite National Park, new blazes were erupting to threaten homes and lives elsewhere in the state. North of San Francisco, residents from about 60 homes were evacuated as a fire near the Mendocino National Forest erupted late Tuesday. That fire was only about 40 miles north of twin blazes in Mendocino and Lake counties that took off earlier this week and together pose a threat to some 12,000 homes. About nine miles northwest of Yuba City,...

The Whiskeytown fire has gotten out of control. Huge walls of fire have now rolled through the western portions of the city of Redding, CA that has a population of around 90,000. There are reports of Fire Tornados ripping through neighborhoods. The Sacramento River was breached. Evacuations on going. Mass confusion. Firefighters have stopped working to fire and have go to a life saving mode to rescue those that they can. Entire neighborhoods are gone. No estimate on the number of homes lost right now. Redding Police and Shasta County Sheriff's Department can not pinpoint road closures as the fire...

A fast moving fire in northern California jumped the Sacramento River, sending residents in the city of Redding fleeing ahead of the flames late Thursday in one of several wildfires sweeping through the state.Cal Fire announced the death early Friday of a private bulldozer operator, who was working on an active section of the fire. The Carr Fire tore through nearby Shasta and Whiskeytown destroying homes and other buildings before charging into Redding, a city of about 92,000. Several firefighters and civilians have also been injured, fire officials said.The Sacramento Bee reports: snip, video at link As the Carr fire...

The devastating Carr Fire in Northern California continued to consume tens of thousands of acres overnight, heading into several rural Shasta County hillside areas, forcing the evacuation of one hamlet and burning more homes. The five-day-old fire’s burned area jumped from 48,000 acres Friday evening to 85,000 acres by midday Saturday, a swath of 132 square miles, and authorities reported five dead and about a dozen missing. “This fire is a disaster,” Sacramento firefighter Chris Harvey told a crowd of residents about 11:30 a.m. Saturday as ash rained down on them. “It’s a very large event with very high speed...

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The death count from a rapidly growing Northern California wildfire rose to five Saturday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead. “My babies are dead,” Sherry Bledsoe said through tears after she and family members met with Shasta County sheriff’s deputies. Bledsoe’s two children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when walls of flames swept through the family’s rural property Thursday on the outskirts of Redding. The three were among more than a dozen people reported missing after the...

California Gov. Jerry Brown is asking President Donald Trump for federal aid to help Carr Fire victims. The wildfire has charred nearly 45,000 acres and is only 3 percent contained on Friday night.

President Trump on Saturday declared a California emergency after the Carr Fire that became a tornado and roared into Redding killing 2 firefighters, burning 80,906 acres, causing 38,000 evacuations and threatening another 4,978 structures. In recognition that California is at maximum commitment with 10,000 firefighters battling 21 fires, President Donald Trump granted Gov. Brown’s request and issued an emergency declaration Saturday morning. The move authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to release disaster response equipment and resources, plus authorizes U.S. military personnel and Defense Department assets to be utilized. Cal Fire reported at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning that 21...