Fire south of Coalinga grows to 10,300 acres, is 70 percent contained

A brush fire burning south of Coalinga has consumed 10,300 acres and is 70 percent contained, Cal Fire officials said Friday afternoon.

On Thursday, an evacuation was ordered for residents near Parkfield Grade off Highway 198, which was partially closed by the fire. Structures were threatened and 15 to 20 people evacuated. The evacuation order was lifted Friday afternoon.

Residents made other arrangements and didn’t go to the evacuation center, said Jessica Piffero, communications director with the Central Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross remains ready to open the evacuation center if the fire gains momentum.

“There doesn’t seem to be a large need, but we have all the supplies ready to go,” she said.

Friday morning’s acreage estimate was a sizable bump from Thursday night, when Cal Fire said the fire had burned 5,500 acres and was 20 percent contained.

Highway 198, closed Thursday from Firestone Avenue to the Fresno-Monterey county line, reopened early Friday.

Crews were dealing with steep and rugged terrain, according to Cal Fire’s incident page.

Winds had diminished from 20 mph on Thursday afternoon to 3 to 5 mph on Friday afternoon.

But the temperature climbed Friday to 93 degrees after being in the upper 80s on Thursday.

Late Friday afternoon, Chief Mark Johnson of Fresno County Fire Protection District said he was hopeful that winds would not increase as the evening wore on.

But typically, he said, the winds pick up later in the day.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Fire south of Coalinga grows to 10,300 acres, is 70 percent contained."