Weed, California According to Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue, two individuals have perished in a town-wide fire in Northern California.
LaRue communicated the news of the deaths. On Sunday afternoon, during a community meeting hosted at an elementary school north of Weed, a rural village recently ravaged by one of California’s most recent wildfires, residents expressed their concerns. He did not immediately reveal the names, ages, and genders of the two deceased individuals.
Before calling for a moment of quiet, he remarked, “There’s no easy way to explain it.”
LaRue and other authorities acknowledged the uncertainty facing the town, such as when residents would be permitted to return to their houses and the electricity would be restored. About 1,000 people were still under evacuation orders Sunday as firefighters attempted to contain the blaze that had erupted out of control Friday, at the start of the holiday weekend.
Cal Fire said that the conflagration, known as the Mill Fire, has not grown since Saturday am, reaching approximately 6.6 square miles and being 25% contained. Sunday, however, the adjacent Mountain Fire expanded in size, according to officials. It also began on Friday, but in a less populous region. More than 300 people were ordered to evacuate.
On September 3, 2022, the Mill Fire rushed through Weed, California, destroying a number of structures. FRED GREAVES / REUTERS
A sense of emptiness pervaded the town of Weed the morning after evacuation orders were lifted for thousands of other people due to power outages, smoky sky, and uncertainty about what the day would bring.
Susan Tavalero, a city councilor driving to a meeting with fire officials, remarked, “It’s disturbingly quiet.”
She was joined by Mayor Kim Greene, and they sought to learn more about the number of homes that had been destroyed. Sunday, fire officials reported that 132 properties were destroyed or damaged, although it was unclear whether they were residences, businesses, or other structures.
According to Cal Fire, three persons were hurt, but no additional information is available. Saturday, Cal Fire Siskiyou Unit Chief Phil Anzo reported that two patients were carried to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta. One was in stable condition and the other was taken to the burn unit at UC Davis Medical Center. It was unknown whether these injuries were associated with the deaths reported on Sunday.
A general view of burned and smoldering structures in the vicinity of Weed, California, on September 2, 2022, as the Mill Fire rages. FRED GREAVES / REUTERS
Weed, a town of fewer than 3,000 inhabitants located around 280 miles northeast of San Francisco, has long been regarded as an amusing place to stop along Interstate 5. In the shadow of Mount Shasta, the town is no stranger to flames.
Chief of the Siskiyou Unit for Cal Fire, Phil Anzo, acknowledged the devastation that wildfires have wreaked on the rural region in recent years.
Anzo stated, “Unfortunately, we’ve witnessed numerous fires in this community and county, and we’ve endured a great deal of destruction.”
Since he has lived in Weed, 37-year-old Dominique Mathes has had close misses with wildfires. Though fire threats are growing more common, he’s not interested in leaving.
He stated, “It’s a great area.” “Everyone faces risks everywhere, such as hurricanes and flooding in Florida and tornadoes in Louisiana. Therefore, it occurs everywhere. Unfortunately, there are fires here.”
Small flames are fanned into a frenzy by the winds, making Weed and the surrounding area vulnerable to wildfires. Since 2014, there have been three significant fires in Weed, a period of intense drought that has caused the worst and most devastating wildfire in California’s history.
This drought continues as California enters what is normally its worst fire season. According to scientists, climate change has caused the West to get warmer and drier over the past three decades, and will continue to make the weather more intense and wildfires more catastrophic.
Crews battled flames as much of the state burned in a heat wave during the Labor Day holiday weekend, with temperatures in Los Angeles projected to exceed 100 degrees, which is extraordinarily warm for Southern California. Temperatures were predicted to be significantly hotter throughout the Central Valley up to Sacramento, the state capital.
To protect the electrical grid, the California Independent System Operator issued its fifth “flex alert,” requesting that residents use their air conditioners and other appliances sparingly from 4 to 9 p.m.