California's Delta Fire up to 22,000 acres; Interstate 5 still closed

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The Delta Fire in northern California near the Oregon border has burned more than 34 square miles of timber and brush and prompted evacuation orders for scattered homes and buildings in three counties. (Sept. 7) AP

Interstate 5, which has been closed due to the Delta Fire, is seen completely empty in Lamoine, California, in the Shasta Trinity National Forest, on September 6, 2018.

(Photo: AFP)

The Delta Fire, feasting on dead and dying timber and dry brush in rain-starved northern California, continued to gather momentum heading into its third day Friday, while paralyzing traffic on one of the nation’s busiest freeways.

The fast-moving wildfire, which has sent flames soaring 300 feet into the air and choked the surrounding area with smoke, forced mandatory evacuations orders in Shasta and Trinity counties, both of which were ravaged by the deadly Carr Fire earlier this summer, and is threatening scores of homes and seasonal residences.

At last report on Thursday night, InciWeb listed the Delta Fire at 22,000 acres, with zero containment. There were 1,224 personnel – nearly double the number from a night earlier – working against the flames.

The 24-hour incident forecast said fire activity would “increase as a dry cold front approaches from the northwest with increased southwest winds.”

Interstate 5 remained closed in both directions north of Redding, littered with burned-out vehicles and threatened by charred trees that could be in danger of falling into the freeway.

Caltrans workers remove a burned out truck along Interstate 5 during the Delta Fire near Delta, Calif. in the Shasta Trinity National Forest on Sept. 6, 2018. 

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A partially melted bicycle is seen in front of a burned home during the Delta Fire near Delta, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2018.

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A home leveled by the Delta Fire in the Pollard Flat area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2018.

NOAH BERGER, AP

Bruce Palmer prepares to tow a truck scorched by the Delta Fire on Interstate 5 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze.

NOAH BERGER, AP

A home leveled by the Delta Fire in the Pollard Flat area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2018.

NOAH BERGER, AP

Fire trucks pass the Delta Fire burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of Interstate 5 as both directions remained closed to traffic.

Noah Berger, AP

A fire vehicle passes by an abandoned burned out truck along Interstate 5 after the Delta Fire tore through the region and jumped the road in Delta, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2018.

JOSH EDELSON, AFP/Getty Images

Light from a train is seen as it rounds a bend near the Sacramento River as flames from the Delta Fire fill a valley in Delta, Calif. on September 6, 2018.

JOSH EDELSON, AFP/Getty Images

A fire rages as motorists travel on Interstate 5 near Lake Shasta, Calif., Sept. 5, 2018.

Jerri Tubbs via AP

A firefighter sprays the smoldering remains of a vehicle on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic.

Noah Berger, AP

Fire surrounds an intersection during the Delta Fire in near Delta, Calif. on Sept. 6, 2018.

JOSH EDELSON, AFP/Getty Images

Fire trucks drive away from a burning hillside during the Delta Fire in Delta, Calif. on September 5, 2018.

JOSH EDELSON, AFP/Getty Images

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“We are trying to get in there right now to assess the damage and safety concerns,” Caltrans spokeswoman Denise Yergenson told the Redding Record-Searchlight, part of the USA TODAY Network. “Right now, we know we have damaged culverts, we have damaged guard rail, we may have damaged pavement where the trucks burned, but we’re not sure.”

There is no estimate on when I-5 will be reopened. When it does, Caltrans told the Record-Searchlight that motorists should expect long delays, closed ramps and law enforcement presence.

The Delta Fire sparked Wednesday afternoon, then tripled in size from 5,000 to 15,000 acres overnight while burning in mostly steep terrain in a part of the Golden State that hasn’t seen measurable rain since May, according to the University of California Cooperative Extension.

Officials labeled the fire as “human-caused” but haven’t said whether it was arson or accidental.

The Delta Fire could push Cal Fire’s annual budget to its breaking point. The agency’s director, Ken Pimlott, on Thursday asked lawmakers for additional funding, the earliest such request in state history, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Already, Cal Fire has spent $431 million on firefighting efforts, out of a total budget of $443 million, the Bee reported.

The insured residential and commercial losses from the Carr and Mendocino Complex fires, the summer’s two most destructive blazes, were also exorbitant - an estimated $845 million - Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said Thursday.

Those costs could rise, too, “as insurance companies process claims and more claims are filed,” Jones was quoted as saying in the Bee.

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