Smoke engulfed the Fresno County foothills as multiple wildfires burned uncontained this week, ripping through thousands of acres and displacing Yokuts Valley residents just outside Kings Canyon National Park.
The fires were started by lightning strikes on June 24 and have become known as the Fresno June Lightning Complex fires, which include the Flash, Bolt, and Hog fires.
Strong winds Tuesday night moved the Flash fire quickly across Bear Mountain, a Yokuts Valley landmark, damaging radio transmitters at the top.
The National Weather Service in Hanford, about 35 miles south of Fresno, confirmed that the weather radio transmitters were down at the peak. “We currently do not have an ETA for getting them back up, but we will be working on them ASAP,” the agency stated on social media.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued by Cal Fire officials Tuesday night for Fresno residents near Elwood Road. Fresno County residences near the fires but outside the mandatory evacuation zones have been placed on an evacuation warning. The Red Cross opened a shelter this week at nearby Reedley College for evacuees and their pets.
According to the nonprofit wildfire alert system Watch Duty, the Flash fire near Yokuts Valley burned 2,180 acres, about 3 square miles, on June 26 and is at just 15 percent containment. The Bolt fire has spread rapidly near Harmon Peak in Wonder Valley, about 30 miles east of Fresno, where it has burned 4,556 acres and was at 10 percent containment.
According to Cal Fire, the Hog fire, also about 30 miles east of Fresno, has burned 266 acres near Watts Valley and Hog Mountain Road. It was 40 percent contained on Wednesday afternoon.
Cal Fire’s Fresno-Kings unit on the ground could not confirm if the fire had jumped the road on Highway 180 as of 12:30 p.m. June 26. The most recent incident report stated that the fire was making “significant runs” and noted that topography and winds were influencing fire behavior.
“Fire is impacting communication infrastructure,” the report said.
Firefighting air tankers have also been routinely flying fire suppression missions over the complex as conditions allow, according to the agency. Nearly 1,000 total personnel have been assigned to the fire.
Smoke from the Flash fire obscures Bear Mountain in Yokuts Valley, California, on June 26, 2024. (Summer Lane/The Epoch Times)
Summer Lane is the bestselling author of 30 adventure books, including the hit "Collapse Series." She is a reporter and writer with years of experience in journalism and political analysis. Summer is a wife and mother and lives in the Central Valley of California.
