Spate of vegetation, structure fires keep crews in Stanislaus County busy
A spate of blazes over the past two days has ushered in vegetation fire season in Stanislaus County. The following is a roundup of the recent fires, including one in Legion Park that created a smoke plume visible across the county Monday.
Legion Park
Firefighters responded to a vegetation fire in Tuolumne River Regional Park at about 10:30 a.m. Monday.
They found two acres of grass being quickly engulfed by fire. The response was expanded to include four additional brush units, a grass unit, an extra engine, two water tenders and a dozer.
The wind-driven fire eventually was contained to about five acres. The dozer was used to line the fire and place contingency lines in other areas to stop or slow anticipated fires in the park this summer.
West Modesto
Firefighters responded to the 400 block of Oak Street in west Modesto for a structure fire at about 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Upon arrival, they found a residence with heavy fire showing from the rear, which immediately threatened two other structures.
Crews worked to contain the fire and prevent damage to the main residential buildings. Five engines, a truck, a battalion chief and a medic responded to the blaze. The fire is still under investigation.
Codoni Avenue
Firefighters responded to Codoni Avenue for a brush fire at about 4:45 p.m. Monday. Codoni intersects with Yosemite Boulevard just west of Empire.
Units “quickly stopped” forward progress and contained the fire to two acres.
Cave fire
One engine and a battalion chief were dispatched to a fire in a cave near Crater Avenue on the southern bank of the Tuolumne River, west of Highway 99 in south Modesto.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire from the mouth of the cave while a Modesto police officer operating a drone ensured it was unoccupied.
In February 2024, The Bee reported that unhoused people carved several caves into the banks of the Tuolumne. At the time, city officials installed barricades and temporary fencing along the makeshift steps leading down to the caves. But neighbors said they didn’t believe this would deter anyone from returning later. The city stated it would continue efforts to “restrict access to the caves, prioritizing safety,” which included an increase in police, Fire Department and city staff presence in the area.
Carver Road
Six engines, two trucks, two battalion chiefs and the Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit responded to a structure fire at Valley Public Storage on the 1000 block of Carver Road at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
On arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke from multiple storage units. Two additional units, a quint and another battalion chief were called in as backup.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to nine storage units. The fire is still under investigation.
