Wildfire in Fresno County burns 11,000 acres in less than 24 hours. Evacuations in place

A wildfire that sparked in western Fresno County led to new evacuation orders and warnings for homeowners, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

The so-called Boone Fire started about 12:10 p.m. Tuesday near Highway 198 and Boone Lane west of Coalinga, Cal Fire said.

About three dozen homes were in the path of the fire that has grown to about 11,000 acres and is 5% contained. The sheriff’s office issued evacuation orders and warnings in the region.

The evacuation orders affect those living in Zones P12, P13 and P21 of the sheriff’s office mapping system. Zone P22 was placed under an evacuation warning.

Some residents in the area left their homes but most stayed, according to Tony Botti, the spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. “The fire is in the Los Gatos Creek area, which features a lot of open land and few homes,” he said in an email announcement of the fire.

A Cal Fire command post went up off of Highway 198 between Lucille and Firestone avenues in Coalinga, Botti said.

Firefighters combating the blaze face high winds and rugged terrain, according to Cal Fire. “Extreme fire behavior continues with active burning in brush and tall grass on steep, rugged terrain,” Cal Fire’s latest incident report said on Wednesday morning.

The San Joaquin Valley was also predicted to face several days with high temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, which could add to the difficulty of fighting the fire. Coalinga was expected to see temperatures over 100 on Wednesday through at least Saturday, with the peak of 104 on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Hanford.

The latest on evacuations is available from a Fresno County Sheriff’s Office map at www.arcgis.com.