Update: Peter Fire evacuation orders lifted after blaze destroys 12 structures near Redding

ANDERSON -- Evacuations were lifted late Friday morning, a day after the Peter Fire destroyed 12 structures including several homes and scorched vegetation in Shasta County.

Challenging terrain and weather hampered firefighters the blaze grew quickly Thursday evening, triggering evacuations and threatening a tortoise sanctuary, authorities said.

The Anderson Police Department reported that Cal Fire lifted the mandatory evacuations for La Colina Terrace, Beacon Drive, and Diamond Street shortly after 9 a.m.  

The blaze broke out around mid-afternoon just south of Redding, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

The fire quickly grew to 304 acres, Cal Fire said. The Redding Record Searchlight reported that at least three homes burned. The blaze was 34% contained as of early Friday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire reported Thursday night that 12 structures had been destroyed, though it was not immediately clear how many were residences.

Firefighters aggressively attacked the blaze from the ground and the air, Cal Fire said in a news release, and crews will work overnight to strengthen containment lines and mop up around structures.

An evacuation center was set up at a high school in Anderson, home to about 11,000 residents. Officials didn't immediately say how many people were under evacuation orders.

Flames briefly threatened Tortoise Acres, a sanctuary dedicated to turtles and tortoises in Anderson, co-owner Katie Hoffman told the San Francisco Chronicle. Hoffman said she managed to evacuate with her horses before receiving word that the property was spared, with the only damage some singed fencing.

The cause of the Peter Fire was under investigation.

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• Wildfire
• Redding