LOS ANGELES — Three large wildfires were continuing to burn Saturday in Northern California amid hot, dry conditions that have had experts warning for months that this fire season could be severe.
The most destructive was the Salt fire in Shasta County, which authorities estimated had burned 27 homes and 14 outbuildings as it grew to 7,467 acres by Saturday morning.
The fire was posing a threat to the communities of Lakehead, Pollock and Riverview, where there are several resorts, RV parks and primary residences, authorities said. Evacuation orders remained in place.
The fire had also damaged some Pacific Gas & Electric power infrastructure, including a high-voltage power line and an electric substation, officials said.
The fire started Wednesday afternoon when a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 5 sent sparks into dry vegetation alongside the road, authorities said.
Firefighters were able to use cooler weather to strengthen containment lines along the I-5 corridor Friday night but said the highway remained threatened.
The fire had moved into Campbell Creek and was continuing to spread north toward the Crane Mountain area, officials said. Parts of the fire were starting to reach burn scars from the Delta and Hirz fires in 2018, said Dennis Burns, fire behavior analyst with California Incident Management Team 2.
“That tells you there’s a lot of fire history in this area,” Burns said. “When this fire initially started it was like the only area that hasn’t burned and now we’re moving into area that has burned, which gives us some opportunities. The fuels are a little bit less dense.”
Nearly 500 personnel were fighting the fire, which was 5 percent contained as of Saturday morning.
Farther north, near the border with Oregon, the Tennant Fire had burned 10,012 acres and was 17 percent contained as of Saturday morning.
