Garnet Fire nears 55,000 acres burned near Fresno. Giant Sequoias threatened
The Garnet Fire continues to grow in the mountains northeast of Fresno.
Over the weekend, the fire grew quickly — adding some 10,000 acres on Sunday alone. It crossed Dinkey Creek and moved into McKinley Grove in the Sierra National Forrest, threatening hundreds of giant sequoia trees.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire had burned nearly 55,000 acres with 14% containment (that’s the amount of the fire’s perimeter that’s been surrounded by a control line).
Where is the Garnet Fire burning?
The Garnet Fire started by a lightning strike Aug. 24 and has been burning in an area spanning from the Kings River at the southern edge to McKinley Grove, and west from Fence Meadow past Black Rock Reservoir in the east.
In recent days, the fire has pushed to north and northwest “driven by alignment up drainages, heavy fuels in continuous timber stands with significant loads and low humidities,” according to an incident update from the United States Forest Service.
Over the weekend, the fire burned up to containment lines between Fence Meadow and Nutmeg Saddle, and created multiple spot fires across McKinley Grove Road.
Crews have focused on constructing containment lines to the west in anticipation of any movement toward Tollhouse and Shaver Lake. On Sunday, crews in the north worked to control the spot fires north of McKinley Grove Road and prepared Snow Corral Road as a containment line. Dozer crews worked on contingency lines in Bear Mountain in order to protect Dinkey Meadow, Bear Meadow and Lost Meadow.
According to its social media, Dinkey Creek Inn and General Store was added to the evacuation zone. Dinkey Creek Campground — known for its recreational areas that includes fishing, hiking, swimming and picnic areas — was closed to the public last week.
New evacuation zones added
The Fresno County Sherriff’s Office updated evacuation orders on Sunday to include two zones (K61A and K166 on the departement’s interactive map online). These are on the western edge of the fire, north of Pine Flat Reservoir.
On Monday, it added evacuation warnings to another five areas along the fire’s western edge, north of Pine Flat Lake and southeast and east of Shaver Lake.
They are zones: K26, K60, K61B, K76 and K165 and marked in yellow on the fire map.
Previous evacuation orders and warnings are still in place for a dozen areas including around Dinkey Creek and Wishon and Courtright reservoirs.
Smoke plumes affecting air quality
Large plumes of smoke are visible from several areas around Fresno, including on Highway 168 at the bottom of the four lane. That smoke is affecting the area’s air quality.
Last week, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Advisory, urging residents to stay indoors to minimize exposure to particulate matter from the fires.
The district offers a number of online tools to help determine the air quality in your area, including an interactive map that tracks air quality near the fire. According to the map, the air quality in Fresno was expected to be good on Monday. Closer to the fire, the air quality drops, dramatically. The air quality at Mammoth Lakes will be unhealthy all day, according to the map.
By comparison, the air quality on Tuesday was moderate, according to daily smoke outlook. Affects can be felt into Yosemite Valley, where air quality could get unhealthy. Mariposa should notice less impact.
The district runs multiple Clean Air Centers in the area, including at several Fresno County Library locations. The centers are equipped with high-efficiency air filtration systems. A complete list of those locations can be found online.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 10:42 AM.