Garnet Fire continues to intensify with fire clouds appearing and no containment

As the Shaver Lake community prepared to host a five-year Creek Fire commemorative event, massive fire clouds eerily appeared Wednesday a few miles southeast as a newer wildfire raged.

Towering pyrocumulus clouds — a result of intense heat on the Earth’s surface rising to the sky — blanketed parts of rural eastern Fresno County as the Garnet Fire continued to spread in the Sierra National Forest.

As of Thursday morning, the Garnet Fire had reached 13,934 acres.

There has been no containment so far, and Fresno County proclaimed a state of emergency.

“This is a very difficult fire to access,” said Adrianne Freeman, a public information officer with the U.S. Forest Service. “Our job here is to make sure that we have this fire just as absolutely as small as we can.”

“We’re going to use a lot of people and a lot of facilities to do that.”

The number of personnel assigned to battle the Garnet Fire increased to 986 as more help arrived.

Fire clouds similar to what occurred Wednesday east of Pine Flat Lake, before it thinned out by Thursday morning, had not been seen in Fresno County since the Creek Fire in 2020.

In the first 48 hours, the Creek Fire burned 45,500 acres before eventually spreading to 379,895 acres and destroying 853 structures over nearly three months.

The Creek Fire remains the largest single-incident wildfire in California history.

While the Garnet Fire has not spread as quickly as the Creek Fire nor struck as populated of an area, there are some unpleasant similarities that’s heightened concern.

• Both fires started around Labor Day weekend.
• The intimidating appearance of pyrocumulus/pyrocumulonimbus clouds.
• There’s been zero containment on the fire so far (containment is defined as areas where the heat has been removed and are no longer a threat).

“The smoke column from the Garnet is almost as big as (the) Creek Fire,” Fresno County board of supervisor Nathan Magsig wrote on social media. “It’s pushing 30,000 foot elevation.”

Garnet Fire update

Rain that hit the central San Joaquin Valley on Tuesday helped to a small degree in dampening the Garnet Fire, which started Sunday afternoon.

But Tuesday’s rain, which was a product of monsoonal weather that traveled from the south, also came with gusty winds and left moisture in the air that caused weather instability, according to incident meteorologist Rich Thompson.

Both contributed to the smoke columns that reached more than 30,000 feet.

“It certainly could’ve had a negative impact on the fire,” Thompson said of the thunderstorms. “That combination of the fuel beds (primarily the wood from the forest) and monsoonal fuel of moisture in the air ... when you see a smoke columns that high, that indicates very significant fire behavior below.”

The U.S. Forest Service said the Garnet Fire continued to burn actively Wednesday night with the majority of the growth occurring to the north.

The fire edge was slightly south of the Teakettle Experimental Area and was expected to burn more Thursday.

Activity was observed on the southeast corner but was still holding north of the Kings River.

Firefighters continue to prioritize protecting the infrastructure near Balch Camp.

Dozers, supported by large air tankers, moved north and reopened old roads and lines to try to contain the fire’s northern spread.

Crews were determining areas for contingency lines, with the objective of keeping the fire south of the McKinley Grove and in as small of a footprint as possible.

Large dead trees from previous years of bark beetle mortality, however, created challenges for firefighters.

Humidity was expected to increase Thursday afternoon with thunderstorms predicted to the north and northeast, but no further lightning expected over the fire area.

Winds have pushed much of the smoke in a northeastern direction, helping those in the city limits of Fresno and Clovis from dealing with poor air quality from the fire, Thompson added.

Evacuation orders

According to Cal Fire, evacuation orders were issued for zones K30, K31, K32A and K40. This is a lawful order to leave with these areas closed to public access.

Evacuation warnings are in place for zones K74, K85, K160, and K32B, where there is potential threat to life and property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock are advised to leave now. McKinley Grove Rd. remains closed east of Camp Fresno. Camp Fresno and Dinkey Creek Campground are in an Evacuation Warning area. This can change at any moment and individuals are encouraged to stay out of the area. Zones K28, K29 remain under an evacuation warning. The U.S. Forest Service - Sierra National Forest has also implemented a partial closure of forest lands to the public in the area. Hunters and other recreational visitors already here are encouraged to leave the area as soon as possible. Those planning to travel to the area should cancel plans to do so.

Creek Fire commemorative event

On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Shaver Lake Civic League will host a five-year Creek Fire commemorative event to recognize first responders who fought to protect lives, homes, and natural resources during the destructive Creek Fire.

Admission is free and the event will be held at the Shaver Lake Community Center.

Among those expected to be honored included the U.S. Army National Guard helicopter crew who played a heroic role in rescuing hundreds trapped at Mammoth Pool.

In addition, those who were rescued were expected to speak.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and thank the men and women who were on the front lines as well as those who supported them.

There also will be live music, local food and beverage vendors, kids activities, a photo and video gallery in the community center, showcasing images of the fire’s three-month battle, and a silent auction to help raise money toward the building of a fire station for the Shaver Lake Volunteer Fire Department.

This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 11:45 AM.