Redding, California
The City of Redding, California has an extensive history with wildfires. Located in Shasta County and in the northern part of the state, Redding experiences more than 100 fires annually. In 2018, the Carr Fire, one of the state’s most destructive wildfires in history, started at the edge of Redding and burned nearly 230,000 acres before it was contained. More than 2,000 structures were destroyed in Shasta County, including 270 homes in Redding. The Carr Fire caused nearly $1.7 billion in damages and resulted in eight fatalities.
Although still recovering from the disastrous Carr Fire, Redding is taking proactive steps to reduce future wildfire impacts to its citizens and communities. As part of the CPAW program, the city is hoping to integrate wildfire mitigation into their rebuilding and planning efforts. CPAW’s final recommendations to Redding include: to locally assess and identify the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and wildfire risk; to implement a roadmap for current and future wildfire plans and activities; and to update the city’s wildfire regulations to more comprehensively reduce risk in the WUI.
Snapshot
- 2019 CPAW Community
- Population (2016): 91,794
- Growth Rate (2000-2017): 13.5%
- Fuel Type: Blue oak, mixed chaparral, mixed conifer