Shasta-Trinity Cal Fire has issued mandatory evacuations as a result of the Carr fire, which grew over the last couple of nights. The City reminds all residents to stay vigilant and aware of emergency situations today, as the situation may change rapidly and unexpectedly as it has done the last two days.
The fire has forced mandatory evacuations for many City residents. Current evacuations can be located on the CAL FIRE website at www.fire.ca.gov. The current evacuation centers can be found at the following locations:
-Shasta College at 11555 Old Oregon Trail
-CrossPointe Community Church at 2960 Hartnell Ave.
-Simpson University at 2211 College View Dr.
-Neighborhood Church at 777 Loma Vista Dr.
-Weaverville Elementary School at 31020 Hwy 3 in Weaverville
For more information about the fire and evacuations, call the CAL FIRE info line at (530) 225-2510, and for Disaster Relief call the Red Cross Hotline at (844) 236-0153. Information is also available at www.cityofredding.org, www.fire.ca.gov, and the local media news feeds.
CAL FIRE and Shasta County have both initiated Emergency Operations Centers (EOC), and a state of emergency for Shasta County and the City of Redding have been declared.
An updated map showing the fire district boundaries and perimeters can be found at: http://redding.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=94b379a91e0f47cb91712da22f603d39.
Redding Electric Utility (REU) reports 8,000 customers without power at this time. These customers are mostly located on the west and north portions of the City and there is no estimated time of restoration due to damaged towers and poles.
Redding Electric Utility will be implementing rotating power outages on an hourly basis for residents who currently have power. For those not in the path of or already affect by the fire, power will be restored after an hour. If customers have lost power due to fire, there is no time estimation on restoration.
Please make sure that you, family members, and pets are in a safe area where you can still be notified of emergency announcements. An emergency hotline number has been set up, but please reserve it for emergency situations. That number is 245-7000. REU appreciates your support and patience as we continue to do our best to support our customers.
Public Works reports no change to the status of the other municipal utilities; however, Solid Waste will be limiting routes that will be serviced today. A GIS map of today’s service area has been posted on the City of Redding Facebook page and is also attached to this press release. There are no boil advisories for City of Redding water utilities, and crews will be canvassing neighborhoods to turn off water meters, in neighborhoods that have been evacuated, to reduce waste and eliminate water run-off.
The Redding Public Library will be open today as a cooling and powering station. For those who need to escape the smoky conditions, need a cool place to rest and charge a cell phone, the Library is available. The Martin Luther King center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for youth who need a place to go. Redding Aquatic Center is closed for the weekend. All Summer Camps are canceled today. Staff will update the community on Sunday about next week’s schedule.
The National Guard is reported to have arrived in Redding to assist with fire and police duties. The police have and will continue to be monitor evacuated neighborhoods to prevent looting. There is no accurate count of damaged structures at this time. CAL FIRE will not commit to being able to assess structural damage and losses until the active fire reaches a status where it is manageable. At this time, CAL FIRE is focused on gaining control of the fire and updating the public on evacuation information.
Many residents are reporting an evacuation notice for Hilltop Drive. There is no evacuation notice for Hilltop at this time. City staff and CAL FIRE encourage residents to remain aware of evacuation notices throughout the day in the event that situations change.
All Redding residents should stay aware and on alert today and through the evening hours. This afternoon, there are expectations that weather in the City will deteriorate rapidly. Temperatures in excess of 110 degrees, humidity dropping to 5 to 10 percent, and winds of 15 to 20 miles per hour are predicted. City staff urges residents who have remained in the City to stay vigilant, weather aware, and ready for rapid changes in the scope of the fire this afternoon and evening.
