A fire in the Shingletown area was frightening. The Ridge Incident started as a vehicle fire on Shingletown Ridge Road off Highway 44 at around 2 O’clock Monday afternoon. An extreme rate of spread was reported as flames raced uphill but it slowed down drastically when it reached the ridgetop and it apparently has been held at 15 to 20 acres. An airtanker responded from Redding to drop retardant but large air tankers requested from elsewhere were unable to make it through the smoke.
Cal-Fire is trying to determine if a vehicle is responsible for starting a series of spot fires in Happy Valley Monday afternoon. Fire resources were dispatched at around 5 O’clock to attack the fires along Happy Valley Road near Newcastle Drive, but when firefighters got on scene they found that local residents had already started the battle and had nearly contained the fires. They burned a total of about 2 acres.