A fire broke out in the house near Tolhouse and Pitman Road around 12:30 p.m.

It has spread to more than 170 acres of shrubs, threatening structures and power lines.

The Fresna County Sheriff’s Office has issued warnings to evacuate some residents in the area, asking them to prepare for a quick departure if the fire gets out of control.

But the brigades were able to cope with the fire, as they attacked the flames from the air and from the ground. After working all night, CAL FIRE announced Thursday morning that crews had reached 60% containment.

The day shift firefighters will continue to work on Thursday, clearing hotspots until 100% containment is reached.

On Wednesday, two firefighters were injured when they hit a boulder – one, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter, was taken to hospital. The second, a firefighter from CAL FIRE, was delivered by an ambulance with a shoulder injury. Both are expected to be fine.

From the sky, two new Sikorsky FireHawk helicopters from CAL FIRE aggressively attacked the flames.

“These are some of CAL FIRE’s newest air resources,” said Ryan Michaels, assistant chief of the CAL FIRE / Fresno County Fire Department. “They’re faster, have more opportunities to dump water, and that has helped us hold back the fire.”

They can hold 1,000 gallons of water – three times more than a conventional fire helicopter can dump.
Flaming fires, grass, trees and steep terrain were a problem for firefighters.

But the cool temperature brought some relief until the evening.

“The weather will be conducive to us, so we hope the firefighters will be able to continue the fight, gain an advantage all night, and then tomorrow, hopefully, we’ll just eliminate the hotspots,” Michaels said.

However, firefighters do not take anything for granted.

“We only need one coal that will fall through the line of restraint, and we’re going to race again,” Michaels said.

If you want to know if your home is damaged, you can enter your address this card provided the sheriff’s office.