A large fire broke out at a Fresno County ag operation. It could be burning a while
Huge clouds of smoke were visible along the Interstate 5 corridor in western Fresno County on Saturday afternoon as crews battled a massive fire that broke out along Interstate 5 in Fresno County.
In a tweet, Cal Fire described it as a large almond hull fire off Harlan Avenue, east of Highway 33, near Coalinga. Few additional details were available. Later, the fire agency said the hulls will burn into next week.
California Highway Patrol call logs reported the blaze was at Superior Almond Hulling, with flames moving in a southeast direction and smoke potentially impacting the highway as the plumes billowed skyward.
Two structures on the property initially were threatened along with farm trailers and multiple other vehicles, Cal Fire tweeted.
Smoke was easily visible by motorists driving along the 5 freeway as well as those in surrounding areas.
The cause was not immediately known, but firefighting efforts could be hampered by expected high winds forecast for the area. Gusts of up to 30 mph are possible, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ochs said.
Cal Fire’s Saturday night update stated that the threat to any structures was mitigated but added the almond hull piles will continue to burn for several days. Several pieces of farm equipment were damaged.
No injuries were reported.
This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 4:17 PM.
