California fires burn boats, threaten Gold Rush-era relics

By Noah Berger and Brian Melley / Associated Press

SHASTA, Calif. — Even a reservoir didn’t provide safe harbor from erratic California wildfires.

With flames exploding around Whiskeytown Lake, an effort to save boats at a Northern California marina by untying them from moorings and pushing them to safety, wasn’t swift enough to spare them all.

Dozens of charred, twisted and melted boats were among the losses counted Thursday at Oak Bottom Marina as firefighters continued to battle flames.

“The only buildings left standing … right now are the fire station and a couple of restrooms,” said Fire Chief Mike Hebrard of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “The boat docks down there — all the way out in the water — 30 to 40 boats caught fire when the fire laid down on top of them last night and burned those up.”

Wildfires throughout the state have burned through tinder-dry brush and forest, forced thousands to evacuate homes and forced campers to pack up their tents at the height of summer. Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency for the three largest fires, which will authorize the state to rally resources to local governments.

The fire burning west of Redding, about 100 miles south of the Oregon state line, tripled in size overnight and then grew another 50 percent through the day to 45 square miles. Stiff winds drove walls of flames into the historic Gold Rush-era town of Shasta, where state parks employees had worked through the early morning to rescue historic artifacts from a museum as the blaze advanced.

The so-called Carr Fire was just one of several wildfires that have dispatched firefighters to all corners of the state amid an oppressive heat wave.

A huge forest fire continued to grow outside Yosemite National Park. About 100 homes were still under threat in the San Francisco Bay community of Clayton, although firefighters had stopped the progress of a small fire there after one house burned.

Hundreds of miles to the south, winds picked up and sent flames rushing downhill on the flanks of Southern California’s Mount San Jacinto.

Helicopters making water drops and air tankers pouring red flame retardant circled overhead as flames burned both sides of the main road leading to the scenic town of Idyllwild.

The blaze erupted Wednesday and quickly turned into a wall of flame that torched timber and dry brush. In a matter of hours, the so-called Cranston Fire grew to 7.5 square miles.

About 3,000 residents were under evacuation orders Thursday in Idyllwild and several neighboring communities.

The Cranston Fire was the largest of at least five police believe were purposely set by a man whose car was spotted at the starting point of the blaze in Riverside County, officials said.

Brandon McGlover, 32, of Temecula, was booked on suspicion of five counts of arson, state fire officials said.

The heart of Yosemite National Park remained empty the day after campers and hotel guests were evicted so firefighters could try to keep the state’s largest fire from entering the park nearly two weeks after it was sparked.

The closure was heartbreaking for travelers who mapped out trips months in advance to hike and climb amid the spectacular views of cascading waterfalls and sheer rock faces.

Daina Miller of Tucson, Arizona, had wanted to visit Yosemite for years, but instead her family spent a few hours breathing foul-smelling smoke Tuesday before retreating to their RV for the night. The next morning, they left for Los Angeles.

“You go there and expect the fresh air and it was the total opposite of that,” she said Thursday. “It’s kind of funny, we’re going to LA to get some fresh air.”

The closure through at least Sunday led to at least 1,000 campground and hotel bookings being canceled, park spokesman Scott Gediman said.

Officials emphasized Yosemite wasn’t in imminent danger from the Ferguson Fire, which grew to more than 67 square miles in steep timber in the adjacent Sierra National Forest. The fire was just 25 percent contained.

One firefighter was killed July 14, and six others have been injured

In the north, new evacuations were expanded to about 2,200 people in the wilderness recreation region east of Redding that included Shasta and its historic former courthouse and ruins of brick buildings that make up Shasta State Historic Park.

Matt Teague, an acting district superintendent for state parks, drove an hour and half in the middle of the night to help employees of the park and volunteers rescue historic paintings, prints and other artifacts from the museum housed in the 1861 courthouse.

The fire’s faint glow was visible when he arrived at 3 a.m. and it kept getting brighter, he said.

Just before dawn, the flames had gotten close enough that they were about to evacuate when the fire changed direction and began burning to the north, he said.

That bought them five more hours to collect the most precious items until late morning when it became too dangerous and they were told they had to leave.

“We were on our toes the whole time, to be honest with you,” Teague said. “We didn’t get everything. We didn’t have time.”

Teague spoke later in the day as ash rained down and flames burned on both sides of town as temperatures in the area topped 110 degrees. He said the downtown and centerpiece of the park still stood, but it was unsafe to go inside and collect more relics.