McFarland Fire Jumped Dozer Lines on the Southeast Side Yesterday, But Still Firefighters Brought Containment to Nearly 50%

Wednesday, 11 August 2021, 11:52 am Kym Kemp Leave a comment

Fire crews pass through the flames of the McFarland Fire. [Photo from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service]

The McFarland Fire grew around 2500 acres yesterday and still firefighters have almost circled half of the incident as containment reached 47% over the last day.

Information from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest Public Affairs Office:

The fire flared up yesterday afternoon on the southeastern perimeter. The fire spotted over dozer lines near NorthStar Mountain above the White Rock Guard Station. (The structure has been wrapped with a protective fire retardant material.) Air tankers dropped retardant adjacent to the 28N35 road to slow the flame front and to allow firefighters an opportunity to construct new control lines. This is a priority for today. Our CAL FIRE partners will be working to secure the line in Beegum Gulch in the Dutchman Gulch area.

Fire on the northern perimeter near Dubakella Mountain is expected to remain active. Crews are catching spots and mopping up. The perimeter of the fire adjacent to Highway 36 has been holding as crews continue to mop up and secure the remaining hot spots. Highway 36 has reopened with Caltrans escort since crews and equipment continue to work this northern section of the fire.

The southwest portion of the fire has been stable since it has burned into last year’s August Complex burn scar.

We’ve gathered the most important information about the McFarland Fire and organized it below for our readers.

Stats:

The Weather:

According to Shasta-Trinity National Forest Public Affairs Office

An expanding ridge of high pressure will bring hot and dry conditions over the fire for most of the week. Temperatures will be 92-95 degrees in the fire area with 12-18% humidity. Winds are expected to be light today, but will shift from slope driven winds this morning, to light winds out of the southeast at midday to west to northwest winds in the late afternoon.

The Roads:

According to Caltrans, “State Route 36 is under one way traffic control from 2.9 miles east of State Route 3 to 5.8 miles west of Wildwood Road.”

The Maps:

Operations Map –to see details either zoom or click on the map and download a pdf.
ops_arch_e_land_20210810_2312_MCFARLAND_CASHF001175_0811day
KMZ Map–Zoom for detail or for 3D imagery, click on the map and download a file that connects with your Google Earth program.

Evacuation and Help Information Including Community Meetings:

Evacuation Centers are at the
- Mad River Grange, 110 Hatchery Rd., Blue Lake
- Shasta College, 11555 Old Oregon Trail, Building 1900, Redding, CA.
Areas under Evacuation Warnings in Trinity County are:
- Post Mountain
- Trinity Pines
Areas under Evacuation Warnings in Shasta County are:
- Harrison Gulch from Highway 36 to Deerlick Springs Road
- Platina (Both sides of Highway 36 from Sunday Gulch Road to the Shasta/Tehama County line. All roads to the south of Highway 36 from Sunday Gulch Road to the Shasta/Tehama County line including: Beegum Gorge Road, Platinum Lane, Secluded Glen Lane, Shady Nook Drive and Beegum Road.)
- Shields Road
- Wildwood
- White Rock Road
Anyone impacted by Wildfires in Trinity County can receive free referral support, group support, and one-on-one crisis intervention by reaching out to (530) 461-0257 and [email protected].
According to the Trinity County Animal Shelter, “If you are being evacuated and need help moving or a place to take large animals please call either the sheriffs office at 530.623.2611 or us here at the shelter at 530.623.1370.”