Creek Fire live updates: More than 1,000 families forced to evacuate; their animals, too

The Creek Fire that has burned parts of the Fresno and Madera counties’ foothills in the Sierra National Forest has caused the displacement of 2,672 people, according to Fresno County administrator Jean Rousseau.

Those evacuation numbers were revealed during Wednesday’s news conference regarding the massive wildfire, which was at 228,025 acres with 18% containment.

In all, a total of 1,024 families evacuated due to the Creek Fire.

Their animals had to shelter elsewhere, too.

The Fresno County administrator detailed all of the types of animals that were evacuated: 198 cats, 146 dogs, 82 sheep and goats, 21 horses, 19 chickens, 10 cattle, 8 rabbits, 8 doves, 6 geese, 4 pigs, 3 rats, 1 guinea pig, 1 garden snake, 1 donkey and 1 mini horse.

There currently are about 2,800 personnel helping combat the Creek Fire, according to fire officials.

Cal Fire also reported that the Creek Fire had destroyed 712 residences and damaged 61 others.

And of those residences destroyed, 422 were single-family residences, according to U.S. Forest Administrator Dean Gould. Officials have completed 58% of the assessments.

10:10 p.m.: Military assistance on its way

More than 200 military personnel are expected to arrive this weekend and assist in the Creek Fire efforts.

Marty Adell, incident commander for Great Basin Team 1, said 230 Marines and at least 10 Naval corpsmen are scheduled to arrive Sunday.

Following two days of training, the military personnel will help fire crews in mop-up duties, as well as line construction and construction protection, Adell said.

The additional help will be divided into 10 crews with half assigned to the North Zone of the fire and the other half to the South Zone.

9:36 p.m.: Where the fire’s mostly growing

While the Creek Fire continued to spread and increased by about 8,000 acres since Tuesday, U.S. Forest Supervisor Dean Gould pointed out that much of the growth occurred to the north, where there was a minimal population.

9:24 p.m.: All accounted for

Out of 430 investigations regarding people’s whereabouts due to the Creek Fire, none were unaccounted for, according to Fresno County Sheriff Lt. Kathy Curtice.

9:20 p.m.: Parts of Bass Lake reopened

Madera County announced it was able to repopulate the north side of Bass Lake, open only to residents.

Returning residents are advised to use the Road 222 entrance.

The south side of the lake, however, remains close.

The county also was able to repopulate the Road 225 section up to the Mammoth Pool turnoff, open only to residents.

Proper identification will be needed to get access past deputies, the county advised.

The Creek Fire is as close as 3 1/2 miles to Bass Lake, according to Cal Fire.

A containment line has been established to try to ensure the fire does not spread beyond a certain point if it continues to travel to the west, Cal Fire added.

Other fires nearby

▪ A much smaller fire continues to burn 43 miles northeast of Clovis, on the eastern fringe of the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness west of Courtright Reservoir. The Bullfrog Fire has burned 900 acres since it started Sept. 9. The fire has no containment.

As of Wednesday morning, there is a low to moderate threat to Courtright Village.

▪ The Sequoia Complex Fire, which has been burning in the Golden Trout Wilderness Area of Sequoia National Forest since Aug. 19, has grown to 114,320 acres as of Wednesday morning. It was 12% contained.

2:30 p.m.: Evacuation orders lifted for more areas of Madera County; Clovis donation site closing

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday announced evacuation orders had been lifted in several areas, including zones M3 M5, M6, M19, M20, and M31. Evacuation warnings were lifted for M39, M41, M57, M95, and M96.

Meanwhile, Clovis Hills Community Church will be closing its donation center at 5 p.m. Friday. Any items left at that time will be distributed to different locations in the foothills so evacuees and first responders can have multiple convenient facilities to visit.

On Monday, the church announced its donation facility was full.

Pick-ups will still be available at the center for the rest of the week from 1-5 p.m.

Noon: Too soon to know when Shaver Lake residents can return

Many of the fire crews along the roads near Shaver Lake are shifting from fighting an active fire to cleaning up debris and preventing another flare-up.

What does the transition away from an active emergency mean for residents eager to come home? Much of the Shaver Lake area remains under an evacuation order and Highway 168 remains closed to the general public at Lodge Road.

CalFire meets daily with contractors, local agencies, utility companies and other state agencies like CalTrans to assess the risk and damage to each affected area, seeing where evacuation orders or warnings might be lifted, said Edwin Zuniga, public information officer with CalFire.

It all depends on the safety threat to residents. Officials mainly want to ensure everyone has running water and electricity before returning. They also want to prevent the threat of residents stepping on a power line, having a tree fall on their property or having to evacuate again the next day.

“It’s a long process. We understand this is where people start to get a little frustrated,” Zuniga said.

Evacuation updates and repopulation updates can be found online by searching the fire’s interactive map.

10:30 a.m.: Flames remain hidden from main Shaver Lake roads

The area around Shaver Lake remained heavy with thick smoke Wednesday morning.

Zuniga said firefighters hoped the smoke might lift slightly Wednesday and eventually allow for helicopter and tanker drops.

Currently, most of the firefighting is happening remotely, Zuniga said, so flames remained hidden deep within blankets of trees and smoke from the main roads. But fire trucks in groups of five wound up and down Highway 168 between the burned-down Cressman’s General Store and Shaver Lake on Wednesday morning, mostly mopping up small hot spots blowing out smoke by digging out the roots or stomp holes.

Logging crews also lined the roads and occasionally blocked off traffic, cutting down any trees that might endanger the roads or crews.

9:40 a.m.: Crews prepare for weather change, more fire activity

Firefighters are preparing for a significant weather change across area over the next two days, as the high-pressure system that has been over the area moves east and a low-pressure system moving over the state brings clear air, gusty winds and cooler temperatures at the higher elevations.

A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Thursday afternoon through Friday.

But fire activity could pick up Wednesday, according to CalFire’s morning update. Especially along the northern fire perimeter, because of low humidity levels (dry air), coupled with the clearing smoke conditions from Tuesday. As winds pick up, the intensity of fire will likely grow as the fire eats through the vegetation that has not yet been consumed.

Crews will be operating in Cherry Valley on Wednesday, working to tie the fire edge into the dozer line that has been in place for several days. This operation will burn out approximately 5,000 acres of fuel between the dozer line and the fire with the objective of keeping the fire out of Blue Canyon and ultimately protecting Shaver Lake.

In Madera County, road-clearing operations continue along the 81 Road and Mammoth Pool Road. Crews are also working to remove an estimated 1,500 cattle from the area and beekeepers are removing active beehives from along the fire lines.

Along the perimeter of the fire, snag patches continue to pose a safety threat. These are areas of dead trees that have been burned but remain standing. Residents returning to evacuated areas should be aware of falling trees and avoid these areas.

The Red Cross Temporary Evacuation Facility at the Mariposa Fairgrounds has been closed as the Madera County Sheriff’s office has begun lifting evacuation orders. Still, 1,100 residents remain under evacuation orders.

8:30 a.m.: Air quality should improve in Fresno, Madera counties

As expected, the air quality will remain in the unhealthy category for most of the central San Joaquin Valley on Wednesday — the exception being San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties to the north, where air quality will be unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Still, the forecast is an improvement from Tuesday, when Fresno and Madera counties were forecast near hazardous levels.

As of Wednesday morning, Fresno was already above level 5 for PM2.5 particulates, according to the Real-Time Air Advisory Network.

There is potential for gusty winds along the Sierra Nevada crest on Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service. This could impact the Creek Fire and pose management challenges, though the hazy skies would likely remain as California’s other wildfires continue to affect the area.

There is a low chance of rain, or more likely sprinkling, into Friday, according to the weather service.

This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 8:57 AM with the headline "Creek Fire live updates: More than 1,000 families forced to evacuate; their animals, too."