Single Publication

Basin Fire Update

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Fire Information: 559-468-6809, 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. 

Email: 2024.basin@firenet.gov 

Facebook: @SierraNF

People and Equipment: 697 personnel, 11 crews, 43 engines & 12 helicopters. 

Current Situation: The Basin Fire northeast of Fresno is currently at 11,047 acres and 0% containment. The fire is burning primarily in dry, dense grass within the Rough Fire scar from 2015. While there was some growth along the northwest and eastern edges of the fire yesterday, the rate of growth is slowing.
Additional personnel and equipment are continuing to arrive daily to support firefighting operations on the Basin Fire. Crews are improving roads east of Sacate Ridge to gain access to the northwest corner of the fire, which will be the highest priority for aircraft support today. Structure protection crews are working in the Balch Camp area to protect energy infrastructure, and bulldozers are continuing their work constructing a fuel break to the west and northwest of the fire. Hot shot crews will be inserted on the northern edge of the fire near Rodger’s Ridge and will be supported by aircraft. The southern perimeter of the fire is holding north of the South Fork of the Kings River.

The weather today should be similar to yesterday with light winds and temperatures at the fire of 86-92 and minimum relative humidity of 12-15%. A heat wave forecast for July 2-6 will bring challenging temperatures of near 100 at the fire with low humidity.

Sierra National Forest has implemented new temporary fire restrictions prohibiting campfires, welding, and smoking in non-developed campsites. Visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sierra/alerts-notices for full details of the fire restrictions and Forest Order.

The Basin Fire started on June 26th and the cause is currently under investigation. Currently, the fire is burning at 2000-4500 elevation, northeast of Pine Flat Lake, west of the Spanish Mountain, south of Black Rock Rd (11S012) and north of the South Fork of the Kings River. 

Updates will be posted in Inciweb https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/casnf-basin-fire.

Evacuations: There is a mandatory evacuation order for Fresno County zones K29, K30, K31 and K40. Please check the Fresno County Evacuation map:

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=e7d6006a016a444db8b210ac4d2eb5cf

NEW Temporary Partial Forest Closure Order for the Basin Fire: To ensure the safety of the public and our firefighters, The Sierra National Forest has issued a Forest Closure for the Basin Fire area. Effective June 30, 2024, the closure will remain in effect until July 30, 2024. We urge the public to respect all closure signs and barriers and to avoid the area to prevent any potential accidents or interference with firefighting efforts.  Please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/sierra for the forest order and area map.

Forest Visitors:  this may impact your holiday plans!  You will not be able to visit the campgrounds and trails within the closure area. Please support our firefighters and stay out of this area.

Smoke: Visit AirNow to check the Air Quality Index in your area and recommendations to protect your health.