As of Friday afternoon, the Garnet Fire in Fresno County has grown to 17,159 acres and is at 8% containment. Officials confirmed that the cause of the fire was lightning.

Evacuation orders remain in effect for zones K27, K30, K31, K32-A, and K40, while warnings are in place for K28, K29, K32-B, K74, K85, and K160.

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, who represents the forests and mountain areas of eastern Fresno County, said progress is being made on the southern edge of the fire.

“The Garnet fire has 8% containment and along the southern edge of the fire they’ve been able to create some containment lines there,” Magsig said. “So a lot of people who are south of the fire where we still have some evacuation warning areas, really the level of danger is dropping because they’ve able to create those containment lines on that south fork of the Kings River.”

Adrienne Freeman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service, said crews have been focused on securing steep terrain along the Kings River to keep the blaze from spreading into new fuel beds.

She added that crews are also prioritizing protecting PG&E infrastructure near Balch Camp. “We’re very concerned because this is a big utility for this part of the state and we want to make sure that we keep that safe,” Freeman said, noting that essential workers remain in the area.

California’s Extensive Emergency Response System

She noted that California’s extensive emergency response system is helping coordinate resources at the Garnet Fire. “First of all, California has about the most complicated, extensive network of partners in the entire world, right? So we have a couple agreements that we utilize across levels of government in order to support each other on in it,” Freeman said.

Freeman explained that as a federal agency, the U.S. Forest Service can request mutual aid from across the country, including Colorado and the East Coast, to bolster firefighting efforts.

The agency additionally relies on agreements with the state’s Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire to coordinate local and state resources. “We also have an agreement with our state partners at Cal Fire. So we are using them extensively as well, just like we would support on state fires,” Freeman said.

This system allows federal, state, and local crews to work together efficiently, ensuring manpower and equipment are in place to protect communities and critical infrastructure near the fire.

More than 1,100 firefighters are assigned to the blaze, with that number expected to grow to 1,500 in the coming days. Freeman said additional hotshot crews are being brought in to strengthen containment lines in areas complicated by dead trees left from beetle kill.

Fresno County Ratifies State of Emergency, Recreation Open for Labor Day

The county this week ratified a state of emergency to cover firefighting and recovery costs. “We’re going to be spending literally tens of thousands of dollars to repair the damage to fight this fire,” Magsig said.

Both officials stressed that many recreation areas remain open for Labor Day weekend, including Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake.

Avocado Lake Park remains closed to the public and is being used as the incident basecamp, where firefighters are staging and living in tents while battling the fire.

Freeman urged visitors to be cautious with campfires, towing equipment, and other activities that could spark additional blazes.

“We have 11 fires right now on this forest, and we also have to be prepared for any of those new starts. You can help us out,” she said. “Make sure those campfires are just dead out, and of course, fireworks are illegal every day in the National Forest lands.”

Freeman Gives Updates on the Garnet Fire

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