A lot of the brown haze creeping into Redding skies over the weekend was from the Buck Fire. Sparked by lightning September 12th, the Buck Fire has been spreading south further into the Yolla-Bolla-Middle Eel Wilderness. An evacuation notice was issued Saturday for a small number of residents on the west side of the fire near Hermit Rock. The 12,000 acre fire is 68% contained.
Meanwhile in Junction City the Helena Fire continues to smolder and fire managers say they will not declare full containment until a significant rain douses the area. The blaze destroyed 72 homes and burned through 21,450 acres. Traffic on Highway 299 is now subject to one way traffic control in the daytime and it’s fully open overnight.