Evacuation area expanded in Del Puerto Canyon fires
Authorities on Wednesday expanded the recommended evacuation area for residents in the area of a massive wildfire burning outside of Patterson in western Stanislaus County that has produced ash and smoke seen miles away.
The Cal Fire Santa Clara Unit, which is overseeing the fire response, issued an evacuation warning at noon Wednesday for the areas south of the Diablo Grande community, west of Interstate 5 to the Stanislaus/Merced county line, and east of the Santa Clara County line.
Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services spokesman Royjindar Singh said it’s a wide geographic area but authorities believe there are only a handful of homes within the boundaries.
The Del Puerto Canyon fire is part of what Cal Fire is calling the SCU Lightning Complex, more than a dozen wildfires that have burned 85,000 acres with 5% containment as of Wednesday morning. The Del Puerto Canyon fire is part of Canyon Zone fires, which have consumed 25,000 acres.
The fires continued to grow overnight. But firefighters built some containment lines that were holding, authorities said Wednesday. Hot, windy conditions are making the fire harder to control.
Two first-responder injuries have been reported, and Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse said in a Facebook post Tuesday night that two structures have burned.
Heavy winds pushed the fire overnight, Cal Fire said in a news release issued Wednesday morning. The recent heat wave, with higher nighttime temperatures than normal for this time of year, also has made it harder for crews to make much headway.
“Westerly onshore winds are forecasted to increase today, and while temperatures will be a few degrees cooler with slightly higher humidity, those changes will be negated by the stronger onshore flow,” the news release said.
Those winds also have blown smoke and ash into the Northern San Joaquin Valley, where air officials issued a health alert and people reported seeing ash falling as far east as Empire.
Residents in the area have been evacuated, and those in the Diablo Grande community have been advised to leave as well.
On Wednesday, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies plan to try to escort some ranchers into the evacuated area to check on their livestock, Dirkse said in his post Tuesday.
In all, 578 firefighters are battling the blaze, according to Cal Fire. On Wednesday, “crews will continue to scout for safe access points in order to construct direct and indirect fire line, mitigate the ongoing structure threat and provide continued recon for any new fire starts.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 9:01 AM.
