Firefighter crews are advancing against the Garnet Fire in eastern Fresno County. It has now burned over 59,000 acres since it first caught fire on Aug. 24.
The fire is approximately 69% contained as of Sept. 13, with over 3,000 personnel working to fight the fire.
The flames, sparked by lightning, are threatening many mountain communities and have reached within three miles of Camp Fresno as of Sept. 9. The camp, owned by the City of Fresno since the 1920s, has been evacuated.
According to the U.S. Forest Service – Sierra National Forest’s Facebook page, the fire has also spread to the giant sequoia trees in McKinley Grove. There, firefighters were able to combat the flames by installing a sprinkler system last week, also wrapping the trunks of many trees in fire-resistant coverings. Any spot fires that are catching up in the trees are being extinguished by smoke jumpers who climb up the trees and put it out.
A press conference was held on Sept. 9 to detail the next steps of combating the wildfire. Lt. Matt Hamilton from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said total fire containment is likely to take place soon. With cooler temperatures in the coming days, there will be humidity, leading to ground moisture. This would all help to minimize the number of new fires that start in these areas.
California Interagency Incident Management Team 5 Operations Section Chief Don Freguila presented a short video update on Sept. 12.
“We were challenged again, we continue to gain progress though, so we were able to pick up a piece of direct fire’s edge,” Freguila said.
Heavy fuel, snags, rolling material and steep and windy landscapes are making it challenging to make progress, but the teams are pushing ahead nonetheless.
Freguila said the team is working closely with fire behavior analysts to ensure the right conditions are out in the field.
“A super critical piece of fire is to do it right,” Freguila said. “We are going to do it right the first time.”
Crews are battling the flames 24 hours a day now, and officials say they hope to contain the fire fully within the next two weeks.
