Here’s the latest on the Mammoth Pool rescue, evacuees injured in the Creek Fire
Update, 4 p.m. Sunday:
Many people rescued from the Creek Fire at Mammoth Pool suffered burns and broken bones, trying to escape the fire “at all costs,” according to a Fresno County official. Fresno County EMS Director Dan Lynch said many of the rescued people had amazing stories to tell that included “heroics of family members helping family members.”
Read the latest story on the rescue here » Mammoth Pool victims ‘put their bodies in peril’ fleeing Creek Fire, official says
Original story:
More than 200 people were rescued from the Mammoth Pool Reservoir area late Saturday and early Sunday amid a fast-growing Creek Fire.
There were seven evacuees taken or transferred to Community Regional Medical Center and three to the Clovis Community Medical Center.
Six of the seven taken to CRMC are listed in fair condition, and the seventh was treated and released.
At Clovis, two patients are listed in good condition, and the third has been released.
Blackhawk helicopters were used to save and transport a total of victims who were unable to evacuate in time as the Creek Fire crossed the north side of the San Joaquin River in an operation coordinated by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
The majority of the victims were flown to Fresno Yosemite International Airport, where a triage center was set up to prioritize treatment. Units from the Fresno and Clovis fire departments then were standing by to help transfer patients to local hospitals.
Fresno Community Regional Medical Center admitted six burn victims initially and was preparing for the possibility of receiving more evacuees.
Cal Fire reported Sunday that the Creek Fire had spread to 45,500 acres since it first was detected Friday night and remained at zero containment.
National forest spokesman Daniel Tune told The Bee on Saturday that the fire had “jumped” the San Joaquin River, helping prompt road closures and orders by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office to flee the threatened areas.
“There is an immediate threat to life,” the Sheriff’s Office warned. “The area is being closed to public access. Take action immediately.”
As roads closed and the fire spread, Tune said, more than 1,000 were trapped near Mammoth Pool Reservoir, roughly 23 miles southeast of Oakhurst.
Those trapped were told to shelter in place — even if it meant getting into the water, Tune said.
A few hours later, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed at least 10 people were injured and several others remained in danger among those stranded near Mammoth Pool.
Multiple law enforcement agencies teamed up for a rescue mission to save about 150 people at the Mammoth Pool Boat Launch. Though some were injured, the group was otherwise safely sheltering-in-place, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Multiple agencies coordinated the air rescue.
A reunification center was being established, the Sheriff’s Office added.
The Creek Fire threatened a range of mountain resources, Tune said, including whole communities, structures and power lines.
”Mainly our focus is the safety of all the folks all over the forest,” Tune said, “just making sure folks are safe and get them evacuated.”
A command post was expected to be set up at Sierra High School in Tollhouse, most likely on Sunday, Tune said.
It was not the first time people have sought shelter in water during one of California’s wildfire seasons.
It happened as recently as 2018 during the Camp Fire at Concow Reservoir east of Paradise.
Read more:
Live updates: Creek Fire grows to 36,000 acres; injured patients flown to Fresno on Blackhawks
Shaver Lake under mandatory evacuation. Here’s full list of orders in California’s Creek Fire
See photos and video from the Creek Fire near Shaver Lake in eastern Fresno County
This story was originally published September 5, 2020 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Here’s the latest on the Mammoth Pool rescue, evacuees injured in the Creek Fire."