750 structures threatened by Fresno June Lightning Complex Fire
ORANGE COVE, Calif (KSEE/KGPE) — Firefighters continue to battle the Bolt, Flash, and Hog Fires that have combined to be the Fresno June Lightning Complex Fire.
750 structures are now threatened, including the Project Survival Cat Haven in Dunlap.
Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni says the road closures are a focus.
“On Highway 180, east of Cove Avenue, that is a hard closure for all personnel except fire personnel and it is due to the dangers in the area with rockslides fires there,” Sheriff Zanoni said.
Public Information Officer Seth Brown with Cal Fire says the unpredictable windy conditions, terrain, and extreme heat are making the containment process difficult.
“It’s very steep and rocky terrain, the firefighters are having to hike in, sometimes, 20-30-40 minutes into where they’re working, so we’re making the appropriate plans so they can do that safely,” Brown said.
Dale Anderson, Founder of the Project Survival Cat Haven says if the flames continue to grow, they will have to start evacuating the exotic cats.
“There’s logistics in planning to be able to get them out and it takes us roughly about probably eight or nine hours to get everything done,” Anderson said.
However, the power outage on Bear Mountain that occurred early Wednesday morning has made communication difficult.
“As of about midnight I got no service anymore so now how do we communicate with people up there so this is why I’m down in Orange Cove right now I had to drive down just to find out what’s going on and talk to people,” Anderson said.
For more fire updates and information visit the fire.ca.gov/incidents website and call 559-356-5041.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
