WEAVERVILLE, Calif. — Crews working through the night in steep terrain are building containment lines around a wildfire near the rural Northern California town of Weaverville that forced the evacuation of about 200 homes. CalFire said Monday morning that the fire is 25 percent contained, and that flames did not spread overnight. The fire has burned 650 acres of timber and brush about two miles west of the Gold Rush-era boomtown.
The fire was sparked Sunday afternoon near Highway 299, the main road into town, and rapidly grew to a little more than 1 square mile, or 650 acres, state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said. Berlant said crews struggled to contain the blaze because of the terrain, plus gusty winds and dry conditions that were fueling the flames. Wyatt, whose office was coordinating the response to the fire, said about 380 firefighters were battling the blaze. Weaverville is at the base of the Trinity Alps Wilderness area in Trinity County in far northern California. The town is on the National Register of Historic Places.