Mountain Fire: Residents allowed back into homes and fire 80 percent contained
SHASTA COUNTY — Residents near the 600-acre Mountain Fire are now allowed back into their homes and the blaze is 80 percent contained, according to fire authorities.
On Sunday morning, Cal Fire reported containment had grown from 60 percent to 80 percent, or 480 acres of the blaze. Around 5 p.m. on Saturday, a mandatory evacuation order and all road closures were lifted, and the nearly 4,000 residents who were initially evacuated were all allowed back into their homes.
The fire quickly grew to 600 acres after it began late Thursday morning near the town of Bella Vista, about 15 miles northeast of Redding, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
But hundreds of firefighters dispatched to the area near Shasta Lake managed to stop the Mountain Fire’s growth by Friday morning.
Three people have suffered minor injuries related to the fire, but no deaths have been reported, according to Cal Fire. Five homes have been damaged and seven destroyed in the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.