Shasta Lake is Surrounded by Two Large Wildfires, Lake Businesses Remain Open

The Carr Fire has officially moved all the way from Whiskeytown Lake to waterfront of Shasta Lake, blazing through another popular Northern California destination. Combine that with the Hirz Fire, currently burning just west of the McCloud Arm of Shasta Lake, which has grown to 11,035 acres with 7 percent containment.

While the fires are nearby each other, fire officials do no expect them to merge. They expect full containment on the Carr Fire in the coming days, although extreme fire concerns remain an issue on the Hirz Fire, which has increased its speed of growth in recent days.

In some cases, the flames have reached the shores of the lake, forcing firefighters to deploy to the frontlines via boat. The terrain remains steep and rugged, causing unwanted challenges for fire crews. As fire crews gain containment on the Carr Fire, Cal Fire is getting ready to assign more resources to the Hirz Fire.

The #carrfire has now traveled from Whiskeytown Lake to Shasta Lake. 📹: @dlangshaw

A post shared by Active NorCal (@activenorcal) on Aug 17, 2018 at 10:41am PDT

For anyone who’s willing to brave the smoky air sitting over the reservoir, most of the businesses and marinas are staying open. A message was posted to the Shasta Lake Facebook page reassuring visitors:

“All of the private marinas are open with the exception of Bridge Bay. All of the cottages, resorts, RV parks and bed and breakfasts have remained opened and expect to remain open. Lake Shasta Caverns are running tours on their regular hours every half an hour from 9am to 4pm. Lake Shasta Dinner Cruises is up and operational as well departing every Friday and Saturday.”

“Bridge Bay is in the line of smoke coming down from the McCloud Arm, which they have decided to close for employee and guest health. Private moorage customers will still have access to their boats. They are evaluating each day and will be tentatively reopening August 27th.”

The primary issue on the lake right now is the high level of smoke, which may be deemed hazardous in some areas near the McCloud Arm. It’s difficult on any day to determine where the high density of smoke will be. You can follow updated smoke levels here.

Evacuations remain in place for parts of Old Mill Road, Bonnie Vista Lane, Top of the Hill Trail, Hirz Mountain Road, the north side of Gilman Road, and the Bollibokka Fishing Club.

The Carr Fire destroyed much of the area around Whiskeytown Lake, closing the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area for the foreseeable future. We just hope that the Hirz Fire does not have a similar fate on Shasta Lake.