'Dangerous, fast-moving' California fire explodes near Weed
The Mill Fire broke out in California's Siskiyou County near Weed on Sept. 2, 2022, Cal Fire said.
Cal FireA California fire grew with alarming speed Friday afternoon in Siskiyou County, triggering evacuations near Weed, a small town that's 280 miles north of San Francisco.
The Mill Fire was 200-plus acres and threatening hundreds of home just before 2 p.m., Cal Fire said. Evacuation information is being posted on ZoneHaven.
The blaze pumped out a massive cloud of smoke that could be seen on Alert Wildfire webcams.
"Pretty insane rate of spread - driven by spotting - on the new fire which started in past 30 minutes at or near the sawmill in Weed, California," Zeke Lunder, who runs the Lookout website that tracks wildfires around the state, wrote on Twitter at 1:19 p.m.
The fire broke out as a heat wave sends temperatures in inland areas of California soaring into the triple digits. Weed is forecast to hit a high of 94 degrees and the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Siskiyou County from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday due to the high wildfire risk with both heat and winds in the mix. Winds up to 31 mph are expected in the Weed area this afternoon, the weather service said.
UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain wrote on Twitter that the blaze already had "pronounced and strong signature on weather radar, indicating dense smoke and large pieces of ash/other debris being lofted. This is a very dangerous and fast-moving fire."
This is a developing story and details will be added as they become available.
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