Redding, CA - March 11, 2025

Residents of Redding, California, residing in the Quartz Hill area, are sounding the alarm about the City of Redding’s proposed subdivision development located in the path of the 2018 Carr Fire’s deadly fire tornado.  During the fire, Quartz Hill neighbors experienced a dangerous evacuation choke point. Some citizens were trapped and injured.  Residents are urging the City to prioritize public safety over the new development by first adding a CalFire recommended second evacuation route.

The Carr Fire, one of the most destructive wildfire events in California’s history, claimed eight lives on July 26, 2018. The proposed subdivision site is just 600 feet from where Jeremy Stoke, Melody Bledsoe, James Roberts, and Emily Roberts lost their lives - a nearby roadside memorial serves daily as stark reminder of the area’s extreme wildfire danger. 

Seven weeks before the Carr Fire, former Redding Fire Chief Gerry Gray met with the River Ridge Terrace neighborhood on Quartz Hill, at their request, to discuss fire safety.  Chief Gray expressed his concerns to residents about limited evacuation routes.  Seven years later, those concerns remain unaddressed. 

CalFire subdivision studies conducted in 2024 document the Quartz Hill evacuation infrastructure as insufficient and recommend a second evacuation route be created. Additionally, the State of California has designated the Quartz Hill area as a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.”

The community’s message is clear: No new development should move forward without first addressing existing fire evacuation route deficiencies which put the lives of citizens and first responders at risk.

Residents have long advocated for construction of a new bridge over the Sacramento River, which would provide the required second egress from the Quartz Hill area.

Numerous subdivisions are projected for Quartz Hill in locations where no homes existed prior to the fire.  The first subdivision proposed, The Peaks, is backed by HUD Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds - federal dollars intended to help communities rebuild and become safer. 

QUARTZ HILL ROAD EVACUATION -July 26, 2018

CARR FIRE TORNADO BURNS QUARTZ HILL ROAD SUBDIVISIONS

CARR FIRE TORNADO PATH THROUGH PROPOSED PEAKS SUBDIVISION