Delta Fire explodes in Lakehead, California, forces closure of I-5

Firefighters rushed to slow the growth of the rapidly growing Delta Fire near Lakehead, California, which has exploded in size to more than 36,000 acres with zero percent containment.

The fire forced a closure of Interstate 5 and prompted the Shasta County Sheriff’s office to issue evacuation orders on both sides of I-5 north of Lakehead to the Shasta/Siskiyou county line, according to the Delta Fire incident report.

Lakehead is located about 30 minutes north of the city of Redding, where the Carr Fire destroyed over 1,000 residences in July.

The fire was initially reported as three fires. However, they merged into one fast-moving fire that exhibits extreme fire behavior with rapid rates of spread up to a mile per hour were observed.

The fire front was up to 3 miles wide on the northern side with approximately 300-foot flame lengths. The fire continues to burn in steep and rough terrain on both sides of I-5, according to the incident report.

Officials said the cause of the Delta Fire appears to be human-related. While about 600 firefighting personnel were originally working on the blaze, that number jumped to over 1,900 by Friday evening.

"It has been very hot so far this month in the vicinity of the Delta Fire and [it] continues to be dry," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Evan Duffey.

Thursday was the coolest day of the month so far with a high of 95 F. Conditions may worsen through the weekend as temperatures are forecast to rise into the upper 90s F.

"The atmosphere created by this sort of heat will be primed for extreme fire weather. With that said, the winds in the region are expected to remain generally light over the next week and should not promote extreme fire spread," Duffey said.

The very complex terrain of the region is a bigger concern for fire spread, as the steep terrain will allow fires to run and will create challenges for firefighters on the ground attempting to contain the blaze.

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