Squaw Valley wildfire evacuations remain in place. Here’s latest on its growth

A wildfire in the foothills of Fresno County caused an evacuation order to be issued Sunday afternoon, with the blaze approaching 40 acres as it continued to burn into the evening hours.

An unknown number of structures were threatened throughout the day in the community of Squaw Valley, but forward progress had been stopped, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Shawn Hogan said a little after 7 p.m.

No structures had been destroyed and it was likely to stay that way, he added.

The mandatory evacuation order for the areas of MarLar Lane and Silver Lane was issued mid-afternoon and remained in effect as of 8 p.m. Squaw Valley is in rural Fresno County, about 30 miles east of the city of Fresno.

Flames broke out in the 900 block of MarLar Lane and at first report had burned four acres in dry grass and oak woodland, Cal Fire/Fresno County Fire tweeted just before 4:30 p.m.

Within an hour or so, the fire had more than doubled in size to 10 acres, Cal Fire posted in a 5:11 p.m. update. The fire originally was said to have the potential to grow to 100 acres.

Nicknamed the MarLar Incident, it had drawn both air and ground resources. Five air tankers, three helicopters and one air attack were involved, according to the fire agency.

This story was originally published August 15, 2021 at 4:56 PM.