The Fawn Fire was a destructive wildfire from September 22 to October 2, 2021, in Shasta County near Redding, California, United States. The fire ignited on roads to the north of Mountain Gate and south of Shasta Lake. High winds that night drove the fire south and west into neighborhoods in the wildland–urban interface (WUI), where it destroyed 185 buildings and damaged 26 more.
The Fawn Fire cost $25.6million (equivalent to $million in ) to contain and suppress, burned , and injured three firefighters. A woman was arrested the day of the Fawn Fire's ignition and charged with arson. As of 2026, legal proceedings regarding the fire's cause are ongoing.
Background Northern California experienced many large and destructive wildfires in mid-2021, all of them exacerbated by drought and prolonged heat waves such as the 2021 Western North America heat wave. Multiple fires burned in or near Shasta County, including the Salt Fire and the Dixie Fire. The 1999Jones Fire and the 2004Bear Fire burned a combined and hundreds of structures in the Jones Valley region to the east of the Fawn Fire's footprint. Other destructive wildfires in the wildland–urban interface (WUI) in and near the Redding area include the 2013 Clover Fire and the 2018 Carr Fire.
Progression The fire began at approximately 4:45 p.m. Pacific Time Zone (PDT) on September22, 2021, in an area near Fawndale Road and Radcliff Road, between the community of Mountain Gate to the south and Shasta Lake to the north. At approximately 5:00 p.m., the fire was and exhibiting a rapid rate of spread, burning in timber. Later, the fire was and zero percent contained. That night, gusty north winds caused the fire to spot and spread rapidly.
By 7:00 a.m. on September23, the fire was reported as and five percent contained. An evacuation order was issued by 9:00 a.m. for all roads off of Bear Mountain Road between Dry Creek and Old Oregon Trail. That morning, the fire was reported as , and later that day, it was reported as and five percent contained.
The Fawn Fire's growth was fueled by a combination of high winds with gusts over , temperatures as high as , and relative humidity levels down to 10percent. According to the Redding Record Searchlight, the wind-driven fire exhibited "extreme" and "explosive" behavior as it moved primarily south and west out of the mountains towards Redding and into brush, oak woodlands, and neighborhoods, threatening more than 2,000structures.
At least 555firefighting personnel were engaged on the fire using bulldozers to create firebreaks, water tenders to defend structures and attack spot fires, and over a dozen air tankers and helicopters dropping fire retardant and water in an effort to reduce the intensity and rate of spread of the fire. During the height of the air attack effort on September23, aircraft dropped of fire retardant in a 90-minute period. Evacuation warnings and orders continued to expand, eventually covering all areas east of Interstate5. Winds and fire behavior moderated in the afternoon and evening. By 7:00 p.m., the fire was reported as and five percent contained.
On the morning of September24, the fire was reported as and 10percent contained, with 9,000structures threatened and 950personnel involved in the firefight. The Fawn Fire was rated by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) as the number-one priority wildfire incident in the nation, due to the immediate threat to life and property, as well as reduced resource needs for fires elsewhere in the country. That day, the fire grew by another thousand acres. The day after, the fire was assessed at , remaining 10percent contained. On September26, the fire was assessed at , with 35percent containment. At this point, during the peak of the fire suppression effort, over 2,000personnel were assigned to the incident. The fire exhibited minimal growth after this point, and fire crews continued to strengthen containment lines in advance of a red flag warning issued for September28. Containment slowly increased until the Fawn Fire was declared 100 percent contained at 6:53 p.m. on October2, 10days after it began.
Cause A woman was apprehended after walking out of a wooded area near the fire's ignition point the day it started. According to officials, she told firefighters that she was dehydrated and needed medical care. After receiving it, she was interviewed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) law enforcement officers, arrested, and booked into the Shasta County Jail. She was found with an operable lighter, carbon dioxide cartridges, and a "pink and white item containing a green leafy substance". The supervisor of a quarry near both the ignition point and the site of the woman's arrest reported someone of her description trespassing in the area, ignoring warnings to that effect, and leaving a battery and more carbon dioxide cartridges on a dirt road. The woman said she had been unsuccessfully attempting to boil water containing bear urine in a puddle in a creek bed.
Later identified as Alexandra Souverneva of Palo Alto, California, on September24, 2021, she was charged by the Shasta County District Attorney's office with felony arson to wildland (Cal. Penal Code § 451(C)), with an enhancement because of the declared state of emergency in California (Cal. Penal Code § 454(A)). During her arraignment, Souverneva entered a plea of not guilty. Judge Adam Ryan increased her bail from $100,000 to $175,000 due to the state of emergency and the damage the fire had already caused by that point. In November2021, Judge Ryan found Souverneva mentally unfit to stand trial and put the prosecution on hold. After undergoing competency training in the custody of the California Department of State Hospitals, in April2022 Souverneva was found fit to stand trial. If convicted, Souverneva faces up to nine years in California state prison. Souverneva's trial began in May2026.
Effects The Fawn Fire burned over 11days and cost $25.6million (equivalent to $million in ) to suppress. The fire destroyed 185structures, damaged another 26, and forced the evacuation of over 4,000people. During the fire suppression effort three firefighters were injured; Cal Fire did not disclose the cause or severity of their injuries.
On September23, the state of California applied for a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Fawn Fire. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved it, allowing up to 75percent of eligible firefighting costs to be covered by federal funding. On September27, governor of California Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Shasta County in response to the Fawn Fire.
Following the fire, Mercy Medical Center Redding requested the activation and received the assistance of two National Guard medical teams after hospital staffing was compromised by the combined impacts of the Fawn Fire (which affected 30hospital employees) and the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) provided assistance to businesses and residents in areas impacted by the fire; additional recovery assistance was made available through a Local Assistance Center (LAC) at the Shasta Lake Community Center. Shasta County established an emergency ordinance that temporarily suspended health and safety codes to permit residents to live in temporary housing while seeking permanent housing.
See also Delta Fire (a large 2018wildfire north of Lake Shasta, also caused by arson)
References
External links Official Cal Fire Fawn Fire Incident page Official Cal Fire Fawn Fire Status Update Reports Official Fawn Fire Structure Status Map