Officials say the fire has caused significant damage to the interstate. It burned guard rails, damaged the pavement, left stranded cars burned and damaged drainage systems.
The fire is not active in all parts of the closed roadways however there are many safety risks that the fire still poses to those areas.
“The unpredictability of the fire is certainly one of the reasons we still have the highway closed along with the active process we have of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the highway features in order to keep it safe,” Don Anderson, Caltrans District 2, said.
Burned trees pose a concern to roadways because they can break off and fall into the road.
Caltrans has set up multiple different detours for those needing to travel on I-5. Those travelling south from Mount Shasta can State Route 89 to State Route 299. They can also take 89 to State Route 44.
Those travelling North from Redding can take S.R. 299 to S.R. 89.
All vehicles are allowed to drive on the detoured roads except for permit loads. Although, these roads offer a different route for drivers, they can take more than three hours to get through.
“We want people when they do go in there to feel safe as soon as we have the possibility to get people through there even if its with pilot cars, we will get that open,” Anderson said.
© 2023 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.