Single Publication

Basin Fire Update

Saturday, June 29, 2024

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

Email: 2024.basin@firenet.gov 

Facebook: @SierraNF

People and Equipment: 430 personnel, 6 crews, 34 engines & 10 helicopters. 

Current Situation: Light winds on Friday helped firefighters slow the growth of the Basin Fire northeast of Fresno, now at 7462 acres and 0% containment. The fire is burning primarily in dry, dense grass within the Rough Fire scar from 2015. 

            These are the same acreage and personnel numbers that were reported yesterday.  They will be updated as new numbers come in.  An IR flight to measure the fire acres is scheduled for this afternoon and personnel and equipment numbers will change as the check-in unit catches up to real time later today.  The new numbers will be posted in Inciweb https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/casnf-basin-fire and be reflected in tomorrow’s update.

Fire crews are working diligently to hold the fire north of the South Fork of the Kings River; this is the current southern fire perimeter. The northern fire perimeter is holding along Rodger’s Ridge and crews are building and improving fire-line to hold the fire along this ridge. Structure protection crews have been deployed to protect energy infrastructure at Balch Camp, at the confluence of Dinky Creek and the North Fork of the Kings River. Bulldozers are building a fire break to the west/northwest of the fire, a remote area with potential for moderate fire growth. It is this northwestern fire perimeter area that has the greatest potential for growth. Crews have been able to build some direct line on the eastern fire perimeter but are also looking for opportunities to build indirect line as well.  Additional personnel and equipment have been ordered to the Basin Fire and are arriving daily.

Winds should remain light today, with temperatures at the fire of 85-90 and minimum relative humidity of 15-18%. A heat wave forecast for July 2-6 will bring challenging temperatures of near 100 at the fire with low humidity.

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. 

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.