Update: Pre-evacuation advisory lifted in wildfire near Hensley Lake

The Madera County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday afternoon lifted a pre-evacuation advisory for the area southwest of Hensley Lake, prompted by a wildfire that burned close to 700 acres.

Residents in the area around Heiskell Drive and Road 603 were asked to monitor the situation and be prepared to evacuate on order, or evacuate if feeling threatened. An evacuation shelter had not been established, but the sheriff’s office said the alert was severe, posing a significant threat to life and property.

Seven fires in the area had merged into one, according to Cal Fire officials, before it was contained.

There are nearly two dozen major fires across the state as of Sunday morning, burning more than 1.42 million acres. There have been seven reported fatalities, and nearly 2,500 structures have been destroyed.

Pre-evacuation preparation steps from the sheriff’s office start with moving flammable items indoors (patio furniture, children’s toys, trash cans), turning off propane tanks, moving barbecue appliances away from structures, connecting hoses to outside water valves or spigots for use by firefighters and filling buckets with water and placing them around the house.

This story was originally published August 30, 2020 at 11:20 AM.