A growing wildfire near Lakehead, California, prompted evacuations on Wednesday. The Delta Fire was burning near Interstate 5, near the Vollmers exit, Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials confirmed on Twitter.
Evacuations were in place from the intersection of I-5 and Lamoine, north to the border of Siskiyou County, the Redding Record Searchlight reported. Officials urged residents to heed evacuation orders.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said it was assisting with the fire. Other departments, including the Redding Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service, were also responding to the fire, which required full aircraft and ground units.
CalFire had not yet confirmed how large the fire was, though reports suggested it had already consumed about 200 acres.
The fire broke out around 1:30 p.m. local time in Lakehead. It was unclear what caused the fire. The Shasta County Sheriff's Office confirmed at least one motorist from I-5 was transported with injuries, while several others were rescued from the highway, according to KRCR-TV.
Northbound 1-5 was closed at Fawndale Road, north of Redding, while the southbound portion of the highway was closed at Mott Road north of Dunsmuir.
Meanwhile, authorities continued to work to battle the Hirz Fire, also in Shasta County. The fire had burned through 46,051 acres by Tuesday evening, and was at 70 percent containment, CalFire said. The fire was expected to be fully contained by September 9. The Hirz Fire broke out on August 9, while almost 2,000 firefighters were still working at the scene.
Fires have burned through a combined 1.2 million acres in California this season alone, stretching resources thin as firefighters battle fire after fire. California saw the Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest in the state's history, this year. The fire included the River Fire and the Ranch Fire, which burned through 459,123 acres before nearing full containment.
"These firefighters never regrouped," CalFire Deputy Chief Scott McLean said, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. "They never went back to the station. They went from one fire to the next to the next. Usually, after a major incident, you get to demobilize and get back to the stations, retool and rest and do what you need to do. This year, it's been one fire after the other."
