Jessica Skropanic
 
| Redding Record Searchlight

Show Caption

Much of California will be at greater-than-usual risk from fire this week, and into mid-fall.

Fire weather watches are in effect this weekend throughout most of Northern California, and meteorologists expect to issue watches for parts of Southern California next week when temperatures soar into triple digits.

Temperatures could reach 100 degrees in places along the Sacramento Valley floor and inland Southern California, and up to 110 degrees in desert regions like Palm Springs/Sonoran Desert...

David Benda
 
| Redding Record Searchlight

Show Caption

Two more Shasta County residents have died from the coronavirus, bringing the number of deaths related to the virus to 12 since July.

Four other residents died in March and April, the early months of the pandemic.

The Health & Human Services Agency confirmed the deaths in a Thursday statement and identified them as a woman in her 60s and a man in his 50s. Officials released no other information on their deaths.

Meanwhile, eight more people are sick with COVID-19...

David Benda
 
| Redding Record Searchlight

Facing backlash from opponents, including some nurses, Shasta County has rescinded its order that all health-care workers get a flu shot this season.

Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom announced her decision Thursday morning in a news release.

“The Board of Supervisors and I appreciate, Dr. Ramstrom’s commitment to helping ensure our local health-care workers and patients are protected against the flu and COVID-19,” Shasta County Executive Officer Matt Pontes said in the release.

The county health order from 2013 that requires health workers to either get the flu vaccine or wear a mask at all times while at work during the influenza season remains in place, Ramstrom said.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Ramstrom and supervisor...

Ethan Hanson
 
| Redding Record Searchlight

Show Caption

The hands of 33-year-old Felipe Torres work diligently, kneading the white dough in a kitchen that is filled with the aroma of freshly sliced pork, beef, chicken and spices.

His hands press the dough into balls that are perfectly uniform in shape and smooth in texture. He’s making tortillas for his restaurant, Los Cachorros Taqueria, at the Cypress Square Shopping Center in Redding. On average, he rolls up to 4,000 tortillas per week.

Those hands that help delight his customers’ taste buds are also used to punch people and grapple opponents into submission...

The Mexican government is sending 100 firefighters to help in the battle against the SQF Complex Fire that has scorched 144,000 acres in the Sequoia National Forest and forced many residents to evacuate the southern Sierra Nevada.

The Mexican fire crews arrived at the San Bernardino International Airport Wednesday afternoon. After a weeklong orientation and training session, the crews will make the five-hour journey to the Tulare County mountains. The firefighters hail from 22 states throughout Mexico and flew out of Guadalajara.

The Sequoia Complex was caused by a lightning strike and discovered on Aug. 24...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday declined to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the Nov. 3 presidential election.

“We’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said at a news conference, responding to a question about whether he’d commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”

Trump has been pressing a monthslong campaign against mail-in voting this November by tweeting and speaking out critically about the practice. More states are encouraging mail-in voting to keep voters safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The president, who uses mail-in voting him...

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 17-year-old Justin and 16-year-old Jason Butcher, junior and senior at Enterprise High School, wake up at 8 a.m. to get ready to go to school in their living room. 

Enterprise High, part of the Shasta Union High School District, has a hybrid learning model where students go to school two days a week and learn from home on the remaining school days.

While in the court of public opinion, the hybrid model is not the most popular option, it forces students to take charge of their education in a way that they haven’t in the past, administrators said. 

And although some students struggle with faulty internet connection or a lack of workspace at home, teachers are working around the clo...

A coronavirus outbreak at a skilled nursing facility is primarily coming from its own healthcare workers, Shasta County Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom said Wednesday. 

County officials didn’t name the facility directly but directed reporters to a California Department of Public Health database, which shows Windsor Redding Care Center has reported 36 infections among its residents.

The previous day, Ramstrom told the Shasta County Board of Supervisors that 34 residents and eight employees have tested positive at a local facility since since Aug. 27. 

County health officials could not say whether there have been deaths at the facility, saying that information would have  to come from the business itself...