Carr Fire Blazes Through Whiskeytown, Threatens National Park Structures

The Carr Fire in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area has grown significantly in the last 24 hours, currently sitting at 6,773 acres and only 10 percent containment. Officials previously reported 24 percent containment, before correcting that figure once the situation became more clear.

The fire sits in the beautiful national park, and with high winds and dry heat, there are legitimate concerns that the fire could burn prominent national park monuments. The fire currently sits on the north side of the lake, on the other side of the lake from the visitors center and popular Brandy Creek Beach.

Highway 299 remains closed at the base of Buckhorn Summit and west of Trinity Mountain Road. There are mandatory evacuations are in place for the community of French Gulch, residents along SR 299 west of Trinity Mountain Road to the base of Buckhorn Summit and residents along Whiskey Creek Road, including the boat launch/day use area. There are evacuation centers at Shasta High School in Redding and Weaverville Elementary School in Weaverville.

Smoke is beginning to fill the airways in communities nearby, and officials are warning against outdoor activities for people in Shasta County. The Air Quality Index on Wednesday was 98, just two points shy of “unhealthy for sensitive groups.”

There are currently 1,344 fire personnel working on the scene. Officials have claimed that a “mechanical failure” on a trailer is the cause of the fire.

Photos and videos of the massive flames in beloved Whiskeytown are circulating through social media, as the burning higher elevated hills can be seen in clear sight from Redding. Here are some of the stunning posts:

#CarrFire very strong winds Hopefully it hits the lake. But very strong at this point pic.twitter.com/QJByN7sZdj

— KRCR PHOTOG (@krcrphoto) July 26, 2018

#CarrFire pic.twitter.com/X07rgctIJE

— KRCR PHOTOG (@krcrphoto) July 26, 2018

Increased wind has caused a shift in the #CarrFire which grew in size overnight and now actively threatens more @NatlParkService structures. Today’s high temp predicted to be 107; tomorrow 109. pic.twitter.com/v5LQ0I5ctv

— Public Land Lover (@publiclandlvr) July 25, 2018

Lucky to have some of the best pilots fly over our fires. This is @CALFIRESHU copter #901 working the #CarrFire in French Gulch. pic.twitter.com/L7QmR1H4No

— KRCR PHOTOG (@krcrphoto) July 24, 2018

A quick night shot of the Carr fire. It was putting on a show this evening! #landscapephotography #nightphotography #fire #wildfire #canon #norcal #carrfire

A post shared by Daniel Gallagher (@ihatecrashing) on Jul 25, 2018 at 11:11pm PDT