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<H1><FONT size=4>TRINITY COUNTY <BR>Historic town out of danger <BR>Crews get
handle on Weaverville blaze</FONT></H1>
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<P class=author><FONT size=1><!-- START WRITER CREDIT--><A
href="mailto:dbulwa@sfchronicle.com">Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff
Writer</A></FONT></P>
<P class=date><FONT size=1>Tuesday, August 1, 2006</FONT></P>
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<P><STRONG>(08-01) 04:00 PDT Weaverville, Trinity County</STRONG> --
Firefighters were on their way Monday to surrounding flames that reached to the
edge of this historic gold-mining town, bringing relief to 3,500 residents who
survived a blaze five years ago that swept through some of the same rugged hills
and canyons.
<P>"Everything went really well overnight," Jason Martin, a spokesman for the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Monday. "The winds
died down, and the fire followed suit. That let firefighters put a stranglehold
on this nasty little sucker."
<P>The Junction Fire was 70 percent contained Monday night after burning 3,126
acres over two days. Evacuation orders were lifted and a downtown lined with
buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places was no longer
threatened. Full containment was expected by this evening.
<P>Less than a mile west of the downtown strip, three firefighters from Shasta
County were stationed outside the hillside home of Ron Fisher, a 49-year-old
plumber, when they got a call at 10 a.m. Monday.
<P>"We've been reassigned," firefighter Rob Leal, 28, told Fisher, indicating
the danger had passed.
<P>Fisher lost his home in 2001 to the Oregon Fire, which destroyed nine houses,
prompted a citywide evacuation and led firefighters to form a wall around
Weaverville's downtown. After a few months, Fisher and a longtime friend and
neighbor agreed that they would both rebuild, using fire-resistant roofs and
concrete siding.
<P>"I never thought this would happen again," Fisher said.
<P>The area around his house, once thick with fir, pine and oak trees, is less
fire-friendly now. The 2001 blaze took out much of the timber, and some of the
remaining trees are burned skeletons. Martin said firefighters had been helped
in recent days by the lack of fuel.
<P>The Junction Fire started just outside Junction City along Highway 299, which
connects Redding and Eureka and was temporarily closed. The fire's cause is not
yet known.
<P>The blaze burned east over Oregon Summit toward Weaverville, sending up smoke
that filled the air nearly 100 miles away. By Monday evening, the fire had
destroyed one structure and had cost an estimated $2.3 million to fight. Four
firefighters had suffered minor injuries.
<P>The forestry department said a blaze that gutted a downtown restaurant
Saturday evening was unrelated to the wildfire, though many residents said they
suspected an ember from that fire had dropped from the sky and done the job.
<P>Weaverville, founded by gold miners in 1850, has quite a fire history -- most
of it ancient. A plaque outside the red-brick New York Hotel building states
that it "burned in the town fire of 1859" and "was gutted by the big fire of
1863."
<P>Some downtown structures are built to collapse in a fire, the idea being to
smother a blaze before it can spread. And since the 2001 fire, many residents
have kept valuables packed together to prepare for quick evacuation.
<P>Jan Saxon, 46, bought the Weaverville Drug Store in January, when it was the
oldest active pharmacy in California. She renovated the building and converted
it into a flower, candy and gift shop called Kudos, betting that lightning would
not strike twice in five years.
<P>"We figured it wasn't going to burn for another 100 years," Saxon said of
Weaverville. "Once the downtown goes, there's nothing here."
<P><I>E-mail Demian Bulwa at <A
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