A vegetation fire burning through rough terrain in Shasta County grew to 150 acres by Tuesday afternoon after sparking on Monday.
The Wonder Fire began just after 4 p.m. in an area south of Shasta Lake, prompting evacuation warnings for the Bridge Bay Marina area (zone MTG-1380). It is the first notable wildfire of the year for California’s northern tier, prompting a significant response from state and local personnel.
About 200 personnel have been assigned to battle the blaze with 20 engines, seven water tenders and aerial resources.
In an update just after 3:30 p.m., Cal Fire’s Shasta-Trinity unit said crews were able to make progress overnight and through the day, bumping containment to 30% as firefighters worked to extinguish hot spots.
“(The) fire is burning in steep terrain making access difficult,” Cal Fire said in an 8 a.m. update. “Crews worked throughout the night continuing to construct and improve control lines.”
The evacuation warnings, which mainly affected the resort area, campsites and boat docks north of the blaze, were expected to be re-evaluated this afternoon, said Cal Fire Division Chief John Kiszka, a spokesman for the incident command team.
“It still has a lot of heat in it, and it’s still burning to the north-northwest,” he said. Firefighters expect the fire to travel to the edge of the lake, which will create a control line to aid in containment, Kiszka said.
Firefighters said traffic on an adjacent railroad operated by Union Pacific had resumed and that PG&E crews had re-energized power lines in the area after shutting them down for firefighter safety.
The fire began near Wonderland Boulevard and Ponderosa Road not far from a cement plant.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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