Fresno firefighters face second 2-alarm blaze of day. This time in Old Fig Garden

Fresno fire crews on Friday afternoon knocked down their second two-alarm blaze of the day in north Fresno.

The department got a call around 3:30 p.m. of structure fire at a vacant building near the intersection of Palm and Shaw avenues in the Old Fig Garden area of the city. The vacant professional building was on the south side of Shaw across from Fig Garden Village.

Battalion Chief Chad Tucker said arriving firefighters found the structure with heavy fire and smoke inside. They were able to contain the fire quickly onto the western side, though that side of the building was completely destroyed inside.

Tucker said it appears there was homeless activity in the building. One homeless person was found near the building claiming to have not started the fire, Tucker said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Tucker said. No injuries were reported, and the damage amount was not immediately known.

Other fires Friday in Fresno, Clovis

It was at least the third significant fire of the day in the Fresno/Clovis area.

On Friday morning, the Fresno Fire Department battled a two-alarm fire at a business on First Street near Bullard Avenue.

And in Clovis, firefighters around 1 p.m. responded to a vegetation fire south of Teague between Fowler and Armstrong avenues that produced a large plume of smoke and burned seven to 10 acres. It was the second grass fire of the week in the area; Thursday afternoon, about 85 acres burned in a dry ponding basin near Fowler and Behymer avenues.

At the Clovis fire, Cal Fire Chief Dustin Hail urged homeowners to harden their homes. Hail listed increased winds and worsening drought conditions as reasons for homeowners to clear brush and weeds from structures to assist firefighting efforts.

“You provide the defense, we’ll provide the offense,“ Hail said.

This story was originally published May 7, 2021 at 4:49 PM.