As four fires burn, Madera County issues evacuation warning for areas near Coarsegold

People near Coarsegold were under an evacuation warning for a couple hours early Sunday night for a wildfire threat off Highway 41, with four separate blazes said to be burning.

Among the four fires, the School Fire — near Road 415 and Bohna Ranch Road and Coarsegold Elementary — was said to be the largest at about 5 acres. The others were called the Coarse, Trabuco and Gold fires.

The three smaller fires were fully contained just before 8 p.m., according to Cal Fire Capt. Richard Chow, and the School Fire’s forward progress had been stopped.

The warning — a voluntary level of alert indicating a potential threat to life and property — was first put in effect just after 6 p.m. for areas off the highway and Road 415, according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.

At 6:45 p.m. a second warning was issued for those living on and around Penny Lane and Dollar Court. At 8:30 p.m. both warnings in the areas had been lifted.

As usual in the case of a warning, the Sheriff’s Office cautioned people not to wait for a mandatory evacuation order to leave if they feel threatened. Those with pets or livestock also are always encouraged to allow for extra time to make their way to safety.

Anyone in need of evacuation assistance can call 559-675-7770.

The wildfires are the latest in a series of smaller blazes that have kept firefighters busy in Madera and Fresno counties and throughout California as the state deals with growing drought conditions.

Extreme hot weather, which saw high-temperature records fall in Fresno and elsewhere in the central San Joaquin Valley on Friday and Saturday, add to the danger as well as the challenges facing firefighters battling the flames.

Cal Fire reports 19,070 acres have burned in 3,432 incidents across the state this year. No deaths have been reported, but 20 structures have been damaged or destroyed.

This story was originally published June 20, 2021 at 7:13 PM.