An explosive wildfire is moving into a California city, and it's showing no signs of stopping - see photos from the scene

Jeremy BerkeJul 27, 2018, 21:04 IST

Firefighters discuss plans while battling the Carr Fire in Shasta, Calif., on Thursday, July 26, 2018.AP Photo/Noah Berger

The Carr Fire is tearing through Northern California.

The explosive blaze reached the city of Redding on Thursday night, the Associated Press reports.

So far, the Carr Fire has killed one bulldozer operator who was contracted to help snuff the blaze and has caused burn injuries to both civilians and firefighters. Another firefighter died on Friday morning, bringing the total death toll to two.

According to Cal Fire, the state's fire agency, the fire first started on Monday. By Thursday, the blaze had grown to 28,000 acres. As of Friday, satellite imagery suggests the fire is around 45,000 acres.

This new fire comes on the heels of an especially devastating wildfire season in California last year. A series of fires scorched Northern California last October. The Thomas Fire in Southern California became the largest blaze since 2000, after burning through over 230,000 acres.

Wildfires are also tearing through the area surrounding Yosemite National Park. The Ferguson Fire has ravaged the area for weeks as firefighters work to control the blaze. Take a look at the Carr Fire's path:

See An explosive wildfire is moving into a California city, and it's showing no signs of stopping - see photos from the scene >>

The Carr Fire broke out on Monday near Shasta, a small community in Northern California.

By Thursday night, the blaze had reached the outskirts of Redding, a city of 92,000 people.

People in Redding were unprepared for the blaze, The Associated Press reports, with traffic backed up by residents trying to flee the city.

Source: Associated Press

The Carr Fire is "taking down everything in its path," Scott McLean, a Cal Fire spokesman told The Associated Press. "It's just a wall of flames. It's nonstop."

Firefighters are doing everything they can to halt the blaze.

1,748 firefighters have been dispatched to the scene, according to Cal Fire, including 110 fire trucks, 10 helicopters, 22 dozers, 34 water trucks, and 51 hand crews.

Source: Cal Fire

But the fire is still raging out-of-control — and it's spreading.

"It's just chaotic. It's wild," McLean said. "There's a lot of fire, a lot of structures burning."

The fire already has claimed 15 structures as of Thursday night, and has caused burn injuries to both civilians and firefighters.

Source: Cal Fire, Associated Press

In an interview with The New York Times, McLean compared it to the Tubbs Fire that burned through Napa and Sonoma county last year.

Source: The New York Times

"This fire is just extremely dynamic," McLean told The Times. "We really haven’t seen anything like this except for last year on the Tubbs."