Northern California city sees evacuation orders lifted after fire scare

Evacuation orders were lifted in the city of Weed on Sunday afternoon, hours after a blaze broke out in town.

A large swath of the city, which lies just west of Mount Shasta and has a population of nearly 3,000, was abruptly ordered to leave “immediately” on Sunday morning. But by 3:15 p.m., authorities were allowing people to return home. Just one zone remained under an evacuation warning.

Firefighters responded Sunday morning to reports of a fire in the vicinity of the Black Butte Saloon on Main Street in downtown Weed, according to dispatch audio reviewed by the Chronicle, and they found the building on fire when they arrived.

The first evacuation alerts appeared to be sent out around 11:15 a.m. Authorities described the blaze as a structure fire. Strong winds buffeted the area. No information was immediately available on the cause of the fire.

Interstate 5 runs through the town and remained open.

In September 2022, Weed was also evacuated, along with neighboring towns, when a major blaze called the Mill Fire broke out. Two people died and nearly 4,000 acres burned. Cal Fire investigators found that operations at a lumber mill in Weed had caused that fire.