The Madera County Sheriff's Office ordered the mandatory evacuation of Bass Lake and the surrounding areas on Monday afternoon. "This includes Everything south and east along Road 222 and Road 274 into North Fork. Everything south and east of Road 223 and Road 426 is also under mandatory evacuation," the...
Creek Fire Evacuees Tell Their Tales of Escape and Wait
White flecks fell from the sky as if heaven were shedding dry skin. Instead, it was ashes from the 78,000-plus acre Creek Fire — burning in the mountains in Fresno and Madera counties and forcing evacuations of the residents there. Emergency officials are encouraging evacuees to stay with family or...
Wildfires Force Temporary Closures of Southern, Sierra Nevada National Forests
The U.S. Forest Service announced Monday afternoon that it is temporarily closing the Southern and Sierra Nevada National Forests in California because of the rapidly expanding wildfires. The temporary closures became effective at 5 p.m. Monday. Randy Moore, the regional forester, said in a social media video that the closures were...
Local Stations Could Go Dark if Creek Fire Reaches Broadcast Towers Near Auberry
The fast-moving Creek Fire is threatening to cut off broadcast signals from a number of Valley radio and TV stations with transmitters located at Meadow Lakes, east of Auberry. The fire is approaching the stations' transmitters as it burns in the Jose Basin area, according to a message posted online...
Creek Fire Creating Own Weather System, Havoc for Firefighters
As nearly 1,000 firefighters from across the state are battling the Creek Fire, they are encountering another problem — a fire that is creating its own weather system. This is in addition to the hot, dry weather and an abundance of timber and underbrush. "The other problem we are dealing...
Clovis PD Brings Great-Great Grandmother to Safety in Auberry Evacuation
The evacuation of the Auberry area created some tense moments for Debra Jean Rios and her 92 year-old mother this morning. Rios was at work at the U.S. Forest Service office in Prather when the order came for Auberry residents to leave because of the fast-spreading Creek Fire. Mom was...
‘We’re Not Losing That School’: Firefighters Save Big Creek Elementary from Creek Fire
Firefighters who were battling Saturday to save the Big Creek Elementary School and other structures in the tiny Sierra community told Big Creek superintendent/principal Toby Wait that fire was coming at them "from four directions." But firefighters were determined to keep Big Creek School from being devoured by the Creek...
Creek Fire Adds To 2M Acres Burned in State Already This Year
SHAVER LAKE — Wildfires have burned more than 2 million acres in California this year, setting a state record even as crews battled dozens of growing blazes in sweltering temperatures Monday that strained the electrical grid and threatened power outages for millions. The most striking thing about the record is...
Rapidly Growing Creek Fire Forces Evacuation of North Fork
The Madera County mountain community of North Fork was ordered to evacuate at 2 p.m. on Monday as winds fanned the growth of the Creek Fire. #CreekFire mandatory evacuation orders being issued for the town of North Fork. — Madera Co. Sheriff (@MaderaSheriff) September 7, 2020 North Fork is about...
Creek Fire Displaces Nearly 12,000 Residents. Return Could be Weeks Away, Officials Say.
Update: 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9 Nearly 12,000 people in Fresno and Madera Counties have been displaced by the Creek Fire, a CalFire official said at a Wednesday evening briefing. The fire has now consumed almost 167,000 acres and continues to threaten mountain communities including Auberrry, North Fork and Oakhurst....