A vegetation fire made a run just outside Montague in Siskiyou County before firefighters stopped its growth at 230 acres on Monday night.
The Willow Fire caused a scare after its rapid growth prompted evacuation warnings and made it the North State’s largest wildfire so far this season.
But crews on scene hit the fire quickly by air and on the ground. They reported having it 20% contained about an hour after the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Siskiyou Unit posted about the blaze at 6:06 p.m. Monday, June 22 on its Facebook page.
The fire was sparked in an area off Willow Creek Road just outside of Montague, which is east of Yreka. It was reported at 200 acres at 6:56 p.m. The cause was under investigation.
The incident began as two small fires but within minutes grew to a larger fire, according to Watch Duty, which tracks fires and emergency response.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office’s evacuation warning was for residents who live in Zone MTG-3410.
Fire officials on scene requested additional resources to fight the fire, and at least three helicopters and a control aircraft flying over the affected were shown on a Cal Fire map of the incident.
At least 100 fire personnel were working the fire, Cal Fire reported.
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This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Willow Fire stopped at 230 acres near Montague in Siskiyou County
Reporting by Jenny Espino, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Jenny Espino, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
