Sierra National Forest partially closed as Basin Fire size doubles in Fresno County

Anthony Galaviz
·2 min read

A temporary partial closure to Sierra National Forest is in place until at least tomorrow because of the Basin Fire that was sparked by lightning this week.

Forest rangers said the Basin Fire “has grown significantly in the past few days.”

Rangers said the closure “is necessary due to the heightened risks associated with the extensive operations required to manage and contain the fire. The safety of the public and our firefighting personnel remains our top priority.”

The closure will remain until July 30.

The fire, which first started on Wednesday and located in a large area northeast of Pine Flat Reservoir, grew to 9,549 acres with no containment.

At least 430 personnel, six crews, 34 engines and 10 helicopters are battling the blaze.

The Forest Service said light winds on Friday helped firefighters slow the growth of the Basin Fire northeast of Fresno.

The fire is burning primarily in dry, dense grass within the Rough Fire scar from 2015, rangers said.

The fire is burning at 2000-4500 elevation, northeast of Pine Flat Lake, west of the Spanish Mountain, south of Black Rock Road and north of the South Fork of the Kings River.

On Friday, the fire burned 5,692 acres but has since doubled in size.

The Kirch Flat Campground was evacuated on Wednesday.

A mandatory evacuation order for Fresno County zones K29, K30, K31 and K40 remains.

Fresno Lightning Complex Fire

Cal Fire said there was minimal fire activity Friday night but said added fire crews continued to strengthen containment lines and work on extinguishing hot spots.

The largest fire of the three for the Fresno Lightning Fire is the Flash/Bolt Fire, located at Palomino and Elwood Road in the Wonder Valley Area.

The containment is at 41% with 10,375 acres burned.

The Hog Fire at Watts Valley and Hog Mt. Rd is 93% contained with 293 acres burned.

The Strike Fire was contained with one acre burned.

“Over the weekend, we will continue to see an increase in temperatures and low relative humidity which could contribute to increased fire activity,” Cal Fire wrote in an update.

Evacuation orders have been lifted, Cal Fire said.

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