Carr Fire Evacuation Orders Lifted, Some Residents Allowed To Come Home
REDDING (KPIX 5) -- Amid triple digit temperatures, fire crews are making more headway against the deadly Carr Fire.
As of Monday afternoon containment is now at 20 percent. The fire has killed six people -- including four civilians and two firefighters -- and destroyed more than 700 homes, some in the city of Redding.
Since it broke out last Monday, the Carr fire has scorched 154 square miles, but the worst is likely over for neighborhoods near Redding.
Even though the massive fire is still growing, Cal Fire batallion chief Johnathan Cox told CBS that the threat to the city of Redding has diminished. Some evacuees are now being allowed to go home.
"We are cautiously optimistic that the progression into the city of Redding, a very highly populated area, has slowed, if not stopped," said Cox.
The fire has been raging for more than a week now, devouring an area the size of Denver. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and in some cases, entire neighborhoods have succumbed to the blaze. In the mountain town of Keswick, there lies nothing but ash and rubble where homes once stood.
Several evacuation orders were lifted today near Redding, but some residents say they were never told to leave. Ed Bledsoe, a Redding evacuee, lost his wife and two great grandchildren to the flames.
"We had no idea. Nobody told us nothing. If I'd have had any kind of warning, I would've never ever left my family in that house. I'd have made them go with me," said Bledsoe.
Shasta County authorities say people living in Redding were told to evacuate. They're investigating to see if the Bledsoe home got a warning call or a knock on the door.
Another problem that has arisen in the area in wake of the fire is looking. At least five people have been arrested for looting an evacuated neighborhood, police said.