A wood products company said Wednesday it was investigating whether a fire that killed two people as it swept through a northern California town was caused by the possible failure of a wood spraying machine. water used to cool the ashes in its plating plant. Previous coverage in player video above Roseburg Forest Products Co. also announced that while the investigation is not complete, it plans to provide up to $50 million for a community restoration fund. The mill fire erupted Sept. 2 at company facilities in the small town of Weed on Interstate 5, about 280 miles northeast of San Francisco.| Learn more | 2 killed in factory fire near Weed, hundreds of homes damagedRoseburg Forest Products said in a press release that its factory generates its own electricity in a cogeneration facility fueled by leftover wood, and the ash ejected are sprayed with cooling water by a “Third Party Machine.” “Roseburg is investigating whether the third-party machine did not sufficiently cool the ashes, thereby starting the fire,” the statement said. Hundreds of people fled as the blaze spread, destroying 107 structures and damaging 26 others. The fire eventually grew to over 6 square miles. The fire was 65% contained on Wednesday, with minimal activity. Roseburg said her fund will help residents with temporary shelter, medical supplies and treatment, transportation, clothing, food and water, and child care. Elsewhere, wildfires have burned out of control in Southern California and the Sierra Nevada, forcing evacuations The deadly Fairview Fire has spread to more than 11 square miles near the county town of Hemet of Riverside, about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Janssen said during a briefing that the fire remained only 5% contained with “open fires on all sides of the fire still threatening several communities”. The blaze broke out amid triple-digit heat on Monday and spread ferociously, killing two people found in a vehicle, severely burning another person while destroying seven structures and damaging several others. “Unfortunately, we are unable to identify the victims with certainty at this time. But we believe they were related,” the sheriff’s sergeant said. said Brandi Swan. “It appears that the two victims found inside the vehicle were trying to flee the fire.” The injured person was only identified as a woman. Swan said she had to survive. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Southern California Edison notified the California Public Utilities Commission that “circuit activity” occurred shortly after the fire was reported, the Los Angeles Times said. Activity was not specified. About 35 miles to the north, smoke billowed over ski trails in the San Bernardino Mountains as the Radford Fire fed through stands of woods south of the resort area. of Big Bear Lake. The fire has spread over 1.5 square miles since it was spotted by a US Forest Service helicopter crew on Monday afternoon. It was only 2% contained. In the Sierra, evacuation orders and warnings were in place in Placer and El Dorado counties as the one-day mosquito fire grew to nearly 2 square miles without containment. Near the Oregon border, the mountain fire covered more than 18 square miles of Siskiyou County and was 30% contained. It started on September 2.
A wood products company said Wednesday it was investigating whether a a fire that killed two people as it swept through a northern California town was caused by the possible failure of a water spray machine used to cool the ash from its veneer plant.
- Previous coverage in the video player above
Roseburg Forest Products Co. also announced that while the investigation is not complete, it plans to provide up to $50 million for a community restoration fund.
The factory fire erupted Sept. 2 at the company’s facility in the small town of Weed on Interstate 5, about 280 miles northeast of San Francisco.
| Learn more | 2 dead in mill fire near Weed, hundreds of homes damaged
Roseburg Forest Products said in a press release that its plant generates its own electricity in a cogeneration facility fueled by leftover wood, and the ejected ash is sprayed with cooling water by a “machine provided by a third party.” .
“Roseburg is investigating whether the third-party machine did not cool the ashes sufficiently, thereby starting the fire,” the statement said.
Hundreds of people fled as the fire spread, destroying 107 structures and damaging 26 others. The fire eventually grew to over 6 square miles. The fire was 65% contained on Wednesday, with minimal activity.
Roseburg said her fund will help residents with temporary shelter, medical supplies and treatment, transportation, clothing, food and water, and child care.
Elsewhere, wildfires have spiraled out of control in Southern California and the Sierra Nevada, forcing evacuations.
The deadly Fairview Fire has spread more than 11 square miles near the town of Hemet in Riverside County, about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Janssen told a briefing that the blaze only remained 5% under control with “open fire from all sides of the fire still threatening multiple communities.”
The blaze broke out amid triple-digit heat on Monday and spread ferociously, killing two people found in a vehicle, severely burning another person while destroying seven structures and damaging several others.
“Unfortunately, we are unable to positively identify the victims at this time. But we believe they were related,” Sheriff Sgt. Brandi Swan said. “It appears the two Victims found inside the vehicle were trying to flee the fire.
The injured person was only identified as a woman. Swan said she was expected to survive.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. Southern California Edison notified the California Public Utilities Commission that “circuit activity” occurred shortly after the fire was reported, the Los Angeles Times said. The activity was not specified.
About 35 miles to the north, smoke billowed over ski trails in the San Bernardino Mountains as the Radford Fire fed into stands of timber south of the Big Bear Lake resort area.
The fire has spread 1.5 square miles since it was spotted by a US Forest Service helicopter crew on Monday afternoon. It was only 2% contained.
In the Sierra, evacuation orders and warnings were in place in Placer and El Dorado counties as the one-day mosquito fire grew to nearly 2 square miles with zero containment.
Near the Oregon border, the Mountain Fire covered more than 18 square miles of Siskiyou County and was 30% contained. It started on September 2.