Photos: Community loses homes and pets to quick-moving Mill Fire in Weed

#USA#BreakingNews#News

WEED, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 3: Only the concrete steps remain of a home on Wakefield Avenue in Weed, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, after being destroyed in Friday's Mill Fire. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

WEED — Fueled by gusty winds and sweltering heat, the fast-moving Mill Fire provided an ominous beginning to a brutally hot Labor Day weekend in Northern California, as it tore through Siskiyou County neighborhoods, claiming dozens of homes, causing multiple injuries, and sending thousands of residents fleeing for their lives.

The disastrous inferno — suspected of starting near a local wood-manufacturing plant in Weed on Friday — jumped to 4,245 acres with just 25% containment by Saturday, puncturing a relatively quiet wildfire season with some of the year’s most frightening conflagrations.

By Saturday afternoon, the immediate threat appeared to have subsided somewhat as some evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings and nearly 4,000 firefighters walled off the fast-moving blaze from wreaking further destruction.

Click here for the full story.

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: A tree continues to burn Saturday morning, Sept. 3, 2022, near Lake Shastina in Weed, Calif., after the Mill Fire raced through the area burning nearly 4,000 acres. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: Dave Rodgers, 59, visits the ruins of his home and neighborhood in Weed, Calif., Saturday morning, Sep. 3, 2022, after it was destroyed in Friday’s Mill Fire. He lost everything including two of his dogs. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: The Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Weed, Calif., is a scene of devastation, Saturday, Sep. 3, 2022, after being destroyed in Friday’s Mill Fire. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: An unoccupied horse trailer destroyed in yesterday’s Mill Fire sits in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Weed, Calif., Saturday morning, Sept. 3, 2022. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: Rachel Thomas returns to see the ruins of her home in Weed, Calif., Saturday morning, Sep. 3, 2022, after it was destroyed by the Mill Fire. She and her son are safe but they lost everything, including their pets. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: Buildings destroyed at Roseburg Forest Products during Friday’s Mill Fire become visible in the morning light, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Weed, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: A tangled pile of twisted metal is all that remains on Saturday morning, Sep. 3, 2022, of a Roseburg Forest Products building destroyed in Friday’s Mill Fire in Weed, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: Main Street in downtown Weed, Calif., is a ghost town, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, after residents evacuated during the Mill Fire yesterday. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: A firefighter looks for hot spots below a house coated in fire retardant, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, one day after the Mill Fire raced through the area destroying neighboring homes. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: The ashes of Dave Rodgers’ home sit in the destroyed Lincoln Heights neighborhood in Weed, Calif., Saturday, Sep. 3, 2022, after it was destroyed in Friday’s Mill Fire. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 3: A home is coated in fire retardant, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, one day after the Mill Fire raced through the area destroying neighboring homes. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 2: The Mountain Fire burns late Friday evening, Sep. 2, 2022, in the forest west of Weed, Calif., where another fire, the Mill Fire, had torn through town earlier destroying dozens of homes. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

WEED, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 2: The Mountain Fire consumes a forest Friday evening, Sep. 2, 2022, along Gazelle Callahan Road, west of Weed, Calif., after another fire, the Mill Fire, had torn through town earlier destroying dozens of homes. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) 

Originally published at Karl Mondon, Anda Chu