Winds Breathe New Life Into 64,000-Acre Wildfire

Early morning winds gusted new life into a 64,000-acre wildfire in Shasta County on Monday, rousting hundreds out of their beds and into their cars as the flames leaped control lines.

But authorities said the 5-day-old Fountain fire did not burn any new structures and that most residents evacuated in recent days were returning home. The fire was 40% contained by Monday afternoon.

The other major fire in California, a 9,000-acre blaze in the Sierra Nevada west of Mammoth Lakes, was not burning toward any inhabited area and was 20% contained. Officials said they expected to have the fire fully contained by Saturday.

Shasta County’s Fountain fire has destroyed 307 homes in scattered small communities. A red-flag fire alert remained in effect throughout Northern California, where dry winds of up to 25 m.p.h. were expected to worsen fire conditions.

“A sheriff’s deputy woke us up at 4 a.m. and told us: ‘Hey! Get out! The fire’s coming!’ ” said Dave Buddy, 43, who lives near Oak Run in the path of the Fountain fire.

The overnight winds revived the blaze after a relatively inactive day during which residents of Round Mountain and Montgomery were allowed to return. About 3,000 firefighters aided by retardant-dropping planes battled the fire as it moved northeast into old-growth forests along the Pit River and southwest toward Mills Creek, Oak Run, Fern and other villages.

Thick smoke made it difficult to determine how far away the flames were, adding to the confusion of residents and to the firefighting teams assigned to protect homes with bulldozers and water-filled tanker trucks.

Also in Northern California, low humidity and forecasts of 25 to 30 m.p.h. winds threatened to kick the 6,400-acre Barker fire over containment lines, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

More than 1,000 firefighters had contained 70% of the blaze near the lightly settled town of Hayfork, 40 miles west of Redding. Full control was expected Friday.