Head Fire in Siskiyou Co. continues to grow, more resources on the way

SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. – The Head Fire continues to burn in the Klamath National Forest.

Firefighters worked over night to protect homes near Steelhead, Scott River road and the Highway 96 corridor.

Last night, the fire was mapped at just more than 2,700 acres and zero percent contained.

The forest service said resources continue to arrive.

More lightning is in the forecast for tonight with red flag warnings in effect.

“It’s in an area that gets a lot of erratic winds anyways because it’s at the confluence of the Scott river and the Klamath River and then it was exacerbated by some cumulus build up that we had over the forest here,” Klamath National Forest PIO Jennifer Erickson. “When we see cumulus build up we can see erratic strong winds and that of course amplifies fire behavior.”

Road closures are in effect for Highway 96 and Scott River Road.

Pacific Crest Trail is closed from the Etna Summit to the Oregon border.

Erickson said it’s important for residents to follow evacuation orders and warnings given out by the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office.

“When people stay behind in an evacuation order it can take away from the firefighting effort and jeopardize the safety of firefighters while they try to evacuate people who chose to stay behind. So it’s dangerous for residents and our firefighters,” she said.

A type 1 incident management team is headed to the Klamath National Forest.

The forest service said they’re competing for resources with so many fires in northern California.

They do expect the fire to grow in size over the coming days.