A United States Forest Service firefighter monitoring the Lava Fire, just before telling his team to set backfires. (KRCR Photographer // Adam McAllister)
WEED, Calif. — Just days into fighting the explosive Lave Fire in Siskyou County, 14 arrests have been made to people who entered or refused to leave areas under evacuation orders.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) says the arrests were made on June 30 to people in and around the Mount Shasta Vista Subdivision, which has been under an evacuation order for days. SCSO notes one male driver pushed a county employee with a vehicle and ran a roadblock during this time.
SCSO could not clarify to KRCR if the county employee was a deputy or other law enforcement or fire personnel. Regardless, with resources currently focused on preventing the spread of the blaze burning more than 24,000 acres as of Saturday afternoon, they say those who interfere with operations prevent these areas from reopening sooner.
“This can slow down the progress for full fire containment and interferes with safety measures,” says a Facebook post by the SCSO. “The less time fire and law enforcement personnel have to deal with people entering the evacuation area and interfering with efforts to fight the fire, the sooner we can work on opening the area back up for people to return home.”
The post notes that it is imperative to remain out of areas under evacuation orders for the individual’s safety as well as those battling the fire.