Memories of the 2018 Carr Fire were rekindled Thursday when Chris Alexander looked out from his home west of Redding and saw smoke on the hillside.

The Kennedy Fire, which broke out Thursday afternoon after a head-on collision on Highway 299, ignited nearby grass and burned about 35 acres near Whiskeytown Lake.

Alexander, who lives off Rock Creek Road, said he went outside Thursday afternoon and looked to the west and saw the smoke on the mountain.

"And then I felt the wind blowing in my face and I'm looking at it like, oh no," Alexander said. "I just called Conrad (his neighbor). I said, just so you know, the wind appears to be blowing toward us."

Alexander still had vivid memories of the Carr Fire, which broke out in July 2018 along Highway 299 near the west end of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

The Carr Fire also burned over the mountains west of Alexander's home and eventually into Redding, becoming one of the most destructive in California history.

During the fire, eight people died, 1,614 structures were destroyed and 229,651 acres were torched in Shasta and Trinity counties.

The memories of the Carr Fire were fresh in Alexander's memory Thursday as firefighters worked on the ground and aircraft flew overhead to keep the blaze contained to 35 about acres.

While the Carr Fire burned some of the homes belonging to Alexander's neighbors, the Kennedy Fire did not travel that far east and they were spared Thursday.

Since the Carr Fire, Alexander said he has worked to clear trees and brush away from his home, in case another fire burned through.

More:Fatal collision on Highway 299 sparks fast-growing fire at Whiskeytown

Alexander's neighbor, Conrad Spainhower, moved from Iowa to a property off Rock Creek Road west of Redding after the Carr Fire. The house that was on Spainhower's property was burned down in the blaze. But he rebuilt a home on the property.

After Thursday's fire broke out, Alexander called Spainhower to give him a heads-up.

Spainhower said he was not as worried about a fire damaging his home because the brush and trees were not growing right up close to his house.

"You look around, there's nothing really close that is really too much of a danger. So not too worried from that point of view," he said.

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Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is part of a team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834 by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!