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An explosive fire caused the closure of tens of kilometers of a major California highway. The Delta fire broke out Wednesday afternoon and devoured within a few hours nearly 8 square miles on both sides of Interstate 5 near the Oregon state line. (September 6)
AP
Interstate 5, which was closed due to the Delta Fire, is completely empty at Lamoine, California, in the Shasta Trinity National Forest on September 6, 2018.(Photo: AFP)
The Delta fire, which feeds on dead and dying woods and scrub in northern California, continued its momentum on Friday, paralyzing traffic on one of the country's busiest highways.
The rapid fire that sent the flames 300 feet into the air stifled the surrounding area, forcing mandatory evacuations into Shasta and Trinidad counties, ravaged by Carr Fire's deadly fire in early summer. threatening dozens of homes and seasonal residences.
In its latest report Thursday night, InciWeb listed the Delta Fire at 22,000 acres, with no containment. There were 1,224 staff members, almost double the number of previous nights, working against the flames.
The 24-hour incident predicted that fire activity would "increase as a cold, dry front approached the northwest with increased southwest winds."
Interstate 5 remained closed in both directions north of Redding, littered with burned vehicles and threatened by charred trees that were at risk of falling into the highway.
"We are trying to get in now to assess the damage and safety issues," Caltrans spokeswoman Denise Yergenson told Redding Record-Searchlight, a member of the USA TODAY network. "At this point, we know we have damaged culverts, damaged safety rails, damaged the roadway where the trucks burned, but we are not sure."
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There is no estimate of when I-5 will be reopened. When this happens, Caltrans told the Record-Searchlight that motorists should expect long delays, closed ramps and a police presence.
The Delta fire erupted on Wednesday afternoon, then tripled 5,000 to 15,000 acres during the night as it burned in very steep terrain in a part of the Golden State that did not experience measurable rainfall since May.
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Officials described the fire as "man-made," but did not say whether it was arson or an accident.
The Delta Fire could push Cal Fire's annual budget to a breaking point. The director of the agency, Ken Pimlott, on Thursday asked legislators for additional funding, the oldest claim of this type in state history, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Cal Fire has already spent $ 431 million on firefighting, out of a total budget of $ 443 million, the Bee reported.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said Thursday that the residential and commercial losses from the Carr and Mendocino complex fires, the two most destructive fires of the summer, were also exorbitant.
These costs could also increase, "as insurance companies process applications and more applications are filed," Jones said.
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