Incident Update McFarland Fire

Situation Summary

Evacuation and Road Closure Update: (08/26/21)

Tehama County Evacuations 
The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office and the Unified Command Team for the McFarland Fire have removed the evacuation WARNING in Tehama County for ZONE 158, described as all areas north of Vestal Road from the South Fork of Cottonwood west to Weemasoul Road and north to Highway 36.  
All evacuation orders for the zones within the fire footprint remain.  
Please click here to view the current map for closures and evacuation zones in Tehama County: https://tinyurl.com/Evacuation-and-Road-Closure 
 
Shasta County Evacuations  
The evacuation ORDER for the Platina area in Shasta County has been reduced to an evacuation WARNING.  

Highway 36 
Highway 36 is open to traffic in both directions. Please drive carefully in the fire area. Crews and equipment continue to work in this area. 

Forest Closure in Effect 
The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has announced a temporary closure of nine National Forests for public and firefighter safety. This includes the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. This closure will be effective through September 6, 2021 at 11:59 p.m., and may be reassessed as conditions change. The full closure order and closure map are available at https://go.usa.gov/xF7EM .

Current Situation:

The McFarland Fire is currently 119560 acres and 73% contained.  U.S. Forest Service - Shasta-Trinity National Forest and CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit remain in unified command of the fire.

Conditions were favorable again overnight, and crews conducted successful burning operations along Noble Ridge to build containment. Work in Beegum Gorge will continue to be the priority for firefighters today. The fire showed little growth overnight and held well on containment lines. The northern edge of the fire has not grown in four days.

Today, crews on the northern end of the fire will continue to backhaul excess equipment and open interior roads by removing hazard trees. They are also working to construct a contingency line on the northern side of Highway 36 above the community of Platina across Knob Peak and to Arbuckle Mountain.

Mop up and patrol continues on the eastern side of the fire, and crews to the south continue to strengthen lines into the Wilderness.

The weather today is expected to be similar to yesterday, with light, terrain-driven winds. Temperatures are expected to begin to climb as a ridge of high pressure builds to the west of the fire area. Smoke inversion could moderate both temperature and visibility again today.

A damage assessment team has identified 24 residential structures and 22 other structures destroyed, and 1 residential structure damaged. Damage assessment is now complete. To view the McFarland Fire structure status map please visit: https://arcg.is/1Pu8GW 

Road Closures

Hwy 36 is closed from Harrison Gulch to Vestal Road. For current road information visit quickmap.dot.ca.gov 

Tehama County Evacuations

EVACUATION ORDERS: The area west of Vestal and Weemasoul Roads to the Shasta/Tehama County line and south of Highway 36 in the fire area.
EVACUATION WARNINGS: Hwy 36W from Bowman Road west to the county line and north to the Shasta County line (Zone 157). The area south of Hwy 36, east of Vestal and Weemasoul Roads, north of Pettyjohn, and west of Cottonwood Creek and Vestal Roads in the 4 corners area (Zones 158 and 169). Please click here to view the map for Tehama County: https://tinyurl.com/Evacuation-and-Road-Closure

Shasta County Evacuations

The Shasta County Sheriff's Office has issued a mandatory evacuation ORDER for all residents within the township of Platina. The evacuation order includes all residences and roadways from the Trinity/Shasta County line east to the Shasta/Tehama County line. Residents are encouraged to use Platina Road as an evacuation route. There will be a temporary evacuation site at the Igo/Ono Elementary School. https://www.facebook.com/ShastaSheriff

FOREST CLOSURE IN EFFECT FOR MCFARLAND FIRE AREA:

The USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has announced a temporary closure of nine National Forests for public and firefighter safety. This includes the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. This closure will be effective through September 6, 2021 at 11:59 p.m., and may be reassessed as conditions change. The full closure order and closure map are available at https://go.usa.gov/xF7EM.

For more information please visit:
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7746 
CAL FIRE: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/
Twitter: @ShastaTrinityNF/ @CALFIRETGU
Facebook: @ShastaTrinityNF/ CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit
Email: 2021.mcfarland@firenet.gov
Fire Information Line: (530) 330-4048 (8am-8pm daily)

Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the State are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow.

Engines

69

Water Tenders

20

Helicopters

7

Dozers

45

Hand Crews

18

Total Personnel

895

Cooperating Agencies