September 7, 2020 at 7:38 pm
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SHAVER LAKE (CBS SF/AP) — The massive Creek Fire,
burning in a timber-rich area of the Sierra, had
grown to 135,532 acres by Monday evening with
California National Guard helicopters mounting a new
wave of rescue operations of people trapped by the
advancing wall of flame.
The Fresno Fire Department tweeted that at least “one
military Chinook helicopter landing near Lake Edison
to rescue people trapped by the Creek Fire.”
A second mission also was reportedly underway to
rescue 14 hikers trapped at at China Peak.
At an evening news conference, Cal Fire said the
blaze had grown to 135,532 acres with zero
containment. A Cal Fire official said — “We have
sustained pretty heavy structure loss.” The blaze was
threatening 5,296 structures.
“Fuels continue to be the main influence of the fire
with heavy fuel loading from dead and down material,”
Cal Fire said in morning news release. “The timber in
the area has approximately 80-90% tree mortality from
the bark beetle.”
Fresno County Admin Officer Jean Rousseau echoed
those concerns.
“We were worried about this potentiality with all the
tree mortality up the mountain the last couple
years,” he said.
Rousseau said firefighters waged an intense battle
early Monday to halt the flames near Shaver Lake.
“They have a really hard fight last night to save
Shaver Point and they saved it,” he said. “Very few
structures if any fell… We’ll know more in the next
few days.”
Rousseau said in the fire’s early hours crews had the
blaze limited to a few acres before it exploded out
of control.
“They had it down at one point to a third of acre,”
he told reporters. “Before they lost control. It is
what it is.”
ALSO READ Creek Fire: Smoke Plume Casts Martian Like
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On Monday afternoon, officials ordered the residents
of Auberry to evacuate. A long line of vehicles was
bumper to bumper on roadways leading to Highway 168.
Likewise, The town of North Fork was also placed
under a mandatory evacuation notice. Madera County
sheriff deputies went door to door letting the 3,000
some residents know they should go.
“I’ve lived in the area for 40 years and I’ve never
seen this type of fire activity,” said Madera County
Sheriff Tyson Pogue. “We’ve never seen anything move
this fast I think it’s the culmination of the
drought, the bark beetle…I’ve just never seen
anything like this.”
About 50 hikers — many from the San Francisco Bay
Area hunkered down early Monday at the Vermilion
Valley Resort, a way station for people following the
Pacific Crest and John Muir trails.
“Stranded! But coffee in hand and a crew whipping out
breakfast burritos for all,” resort officials posted
on their Facebook page. “We have about 50 people here
and are waiting for word on evacuation plans.
Everyone is in good spirit.”
Cal Fire spokesman Edwin Zuniga said the blaze was
creating its own weather conditions.
“This fire was able to create its own climate,” he
said Monday afternoon. “That’s what is making it so
dangerous. It creates the situation for very erratic
winds which could spread this fire in all different
directions…Eastern winds so the fire activity is
increasing on the southern portion near Shaver Lake.”
On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of
emergency for the region as firefighters including
crews from Santa Rosa and Oakland raced to join the
fight from around the state.
The advancing flames had left a path of destruction
through the small community of Big Creek — a Southern
California Edison company town adjacent to the
century-old Big Creek Hydroelectric Project.
“About half the private homes in town burned down,”
local resident Toby Wait told the Fresno Bee. “Words
cannot even begin to describe the devastation of this
community. And it is a very close-knit community.”
Wait was able to flee with his family and was hopeful
his neighbors also were able to escape.
“We have some memories, we have some photos, we have
the clothes on our back and everyone is safe,” Wait,
whose family is staying with his wife’s parents in
Fresno, told the paper. “That’s really what it comes
down to, the safety of human life.”
Jeremy Remington was one of 207 people who were
trapped and rescued from Mammoth Pool by California
National Guard helicopters on Saturday night. But
before he was airlifted out, he posted a frightening
video on Twitter.
“We are at Mammoth Pool and we are completely
surrounded, trapped,” he said. “There is fire on all
sides, all around us. All the roads are burnt.”
Among those who came to Remington’s rescue was
California National Guard Cpl. David Hall. Rescue
crews decided to load as many people on board as
possible on the second run to the campsite as weather
conditions deteriorated.
“On that second round — when it was more important to
get everybody out — it was important that they
brought everybody on, secured what they could and
then everybody else ended up taking a seat on the
floor,” Hall said at Sunday news conference. “We do
not like to operate this way but because of the
circumstances of this being an urgent situation
threatening life, the pilots and command made a smart
decision by asking them to get on the helicopter and
loading as many as they could on that lift.”
At least two people were severely injured and 10 more
suffered moderate injuries. Two campers refused
rescue and stayed behind, the Madera County Sheriff’s
Office said, and there was no immediate word on their
fates.
A photo tweeted by the California National Guard
showed more than 20 evacuees packed tightly inside
one helicopter, some crouched on the floor clutching
their belongings.Juliana Pack was on a hiking trip
when the flames began to race through the woods. She
posted a video on social media of her escape driving
through a road surrounded by fire.
“I think if we would have stayed just 10 minutes
more, we might have been so lucky,” she said.
On Sunday afternoon, the fire was threatening a
marina and cabins along Shaver Lake, where Jack
Machado helped friends remove propane tanks from the
lodge Cottages at the Point. Sheriff’s deputies went
through the town of several hundred residents to make
sure people complied with evacuation orders.
“The lake is totally engulfed with smoke. You can’t
hardly see in front of you,” Machado said. “The sky’s
turning red. It looks like Mars out there.”
Lindsey Abbott and her family were guided to safety
by a stranger they followed down from their campsite
near Whisky Falls.
“It was so hot, you could feel the flames going
through the window,” she said.
Ashley Wagner was among those rescued, along with two
relatives and a friend. They were trapped in Logan’s
Meadow behind Wagner’s Store, a 63-year-old business
run by her aunt that was destroyed.
“My family’s history just went up in flames,” she
told a Fresno television station.
Jay, a firefighter from the Pacific Northwest, was
among those manning the fire lines. He simply posted:
“The past 50 hours has been the most insane
experience of my life fighting the #Creekfire.”
Gillis Jones posted on Sunday — “County sheriff’s and
fire crews just escorted nearly 50 families from
China Peak near in Sierra National Forest. There was
an attempted airlift by National Guard helicopters,
but the smoke and other factors prevented it.”
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**sorry to hear this. I have a great story about a
Bass Lake biker bar that you will never hear on this
board lol...but the moral is, never go into a biker
bar dressed like Robin Hood and his Merry men..just
don't. Trust me.
******
Creek Fire forces mandatory evacuation order for Bass
Lake
by FOX26 NEWSMonday, September 7th 2020
FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — You need to get ready to
leave if you are in the Bass Lake area.
Right now, the Madera County Sheriff's Office says
that mandatory evacuation orders are being developed
for Bass Lake.
These evacuation orders will include both sides of
the lake.
Homes east of Road 222 and Road 432 and Road 426 Road
222 will be evacuated.
As of Monday night, the Creek Fire has reached
135,523 acres with 0% containment,
*******
Madera Co. Sheriff
@MaderaSheriff
#CreekFire Mandatory evacuation orders are being
developed for Bass Lake. This will include both
sides of the lake. Residences east of Rd 222/Rd 432
and Road 426/Rd 222 will be evacuated. Areas east of
Hwy 41 in Oakhurst, Coarsegold, O’Neal’s moving to
warning status.
5:19 PM · Sep 7, 2020 from California, USA
********
We will update this article as soon as those orders
become official.
Areas east of Highway 41 in Oakhurst, Coarsegold,
O’Neal’s moving into an evacuation warning status.
An evacuation warning is not a mandatory to leave,
but you should be prepared if it comes to that.
If you need extra time to leave or need to evacuate
animals, you should leave now.
Also in Madera County, an evacuation order has been
handed down for the entire town of North Fork.
Madera County sheriff's deputies are going door-to-
door in the area, telling people to evacuate
immediately.
Evacuation Warning
An Evacuation Warning has been issued for Southside
of Road 200 between Road 221 and Road 222 and all
spur roads, such as Oak Junction Lane Wyle Ranch
Road, Lumburg Road and Fast Lane. Road 222 between
Road 200 and the Fresno/Madera County Line and all
spur roads.
This includes Carmen Ranch Road, Ciatana Creek Road,
Corrine Lake Road, Box Canyon Road, Tunoi Place and
Smalley Cove Campground due to Fire.
Evacuation warnings are not mandatory but there is a
potential threat to life and property, so monitor the
situation and be prepared to take action immediately.
Don’t wait for an evacuation order to leave if you
feel threatened.
Those who require additional time to evacuate and
those with pets and livestock should leave now.
CREEK FIRE EVACUATIONS
Evacuations and other emergency information regarding
the Creek Fire as of 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 7.
Area west of Tollhouse, along Auberry Road west to
Powerhouse Road
Alder Springs
Auberry - Extending from the San Joaquin River on
Powerhouse Rd. to Auberry Rd in both directions out
to Hwy. 168. This includes the points next to Prather
& next to Cressman's General Store.
Beal Fire Road
Big Creek
Big Sandy
Camp Sierra
Courtright Reservoirs
Dinkey Creek
High Sierra areas, which include: Florence Lake, Ward
Lake, Portal Forebay, Edison Lake, Mono Hot Springs,
Kaiser and all campgrounds
Huntington Lake
Italian Bar
Jose Basin
Mile High
Meadow Lakes
Mono Wind Casino
Powerhouse Road to the San Joaquin River.
Shaver Lake down to Cressman Road, including Cressman
Road
Tollhouse Road at Peterson Road down to Lodge Road
Wishon
Road 221 between Road 200 and Road 226 and all spur
roads such as Kowana Lane, Pahuma Way, Nielsen Road,
Quail Flats Drive, Sunridge Drive and Klette's Pride
Way, -Road 226 between Road 221 and Road 222 and all
spur roads such as Bishop Park Place, Deer Springs
Lane, Walker Ranch Road, and Keller Road, -Road 224
between Road 226 and Road 200 and all spur roads such
as Horn Road, Mountain Springs Road, Priest Road,
Wilcox Drive, Wild Plum Lane, and Quail Hollow Court,
-Road 225 between Road 222 and Road 274 and all spur
roads such as Amber Lane, Willow Creek Drive, and
Road 228, -Road 222 between Road 226 and Road 200 and
all spur roads such as Wah Up Way, Weatherly Lane and
Buckhorn Court, -Road 200 on the northside of road
between Road 221 and Road 222 and all spur road such
as Wild Plum Lane, Tahoot Drive, Maranatha Drive,
Golden Acorn Court, Ellis Way, Rocky Road, Cougar
Springs Trail
Road 223 from Road 426 to Road 221 and all spur road
such as Woodland Pond Trail, Smiley Meadows Court,
Pinchot Drive, Pine Oak, Smiley Mountain Road,
Northridge Road, Church Ranch Road, Taylor Ridge
Road, Timberview Road, Finegold Creek Drive, Teaford
Poyah, Woaka Poyah, and Hidden Meadows Road. Road 221
from Road 222 to Road 226 and all spur road such as
Oak Leaf Way, Munson Lane, and Shady Oaks Drive
Road 225 east of Road 274 and all spur roads,
including Douglas Ranger Station Road, Cascadel Road,
Tu-nobi Way, Rainbow Drive, Lark Lane, Boulder Creek
Drive, Tera Tera Ranch Road, and Italian Bar Road,
along with Road 235 between Road 222 and Italian Bar
Road due to fire. There is an immediate threat to
life. This is an evacuation order to leave now. The
area is being closed to public access.
Road 274 between Road 222 and Road 225 and all spur
roads such as Putney Place, Los Roble, Gilpin Lane,
Thunder Way, Road 229A, Mono Wind Way, Willow Canyon
Drive, Gentle Way, Central Camp Road, Marina View
Drive, Fawn Point Lane, Lake Point Drive, Lake View
Drive, Emerald Cove, Cedar Vista Road, Beasore Road,
Road 434, Road 432 including all sub roads around
Pines Track, and Orchard Lane
SQF COMPLEX EVACUATIONS:
The following evacuations are also ordered due to the
SQF Complex Fire:
Alpine Village
Camp Nelson,
Cedar Slope
Coy Flat,
Mountain Aire
Pier Point
Ponderosa
Pyles Camp
Redwood Drive
Sequoia Crest
Evacuation warnings:
Doyle Springs.
The road closure for SR190 has been expanded and is
closed from 16.2 miles east of Porterville (at Rancho
Rio Vista Road) to Quaking Aspen campground.
Roads closure points into these areas – Hwy 190 & the
County Transfer Station – M107 and Mountain Road 50 –
Johnsondale Bridge & Sherman Pass.
These points are closed to all traffic into the area.
Campgrounds closed: Belknap, Coy Flat, Dome Rock,
Lower Peppermint, Upper Peppermint, & Quaking Aspen.
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