Basin Fire Forces Partial Closure of Sierra National Forest

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — On Saturday, the U.S. Forest Service announced a partial closure of the forest due to dangerous fire conditions.

The video above is from an earlier story and will be updated.

Beginning Sunday, June 30, portions of the Sierra National Forest will be closed. This is to ensure the safety of people while firefighters work to gain ground on the fire. The closure will last through July 30.

“Ultimately, this closure order is there to protect the public,” said Mike Lindbery, Basin Fire spokesman. “But it’s also there for the protection of firefighters.”

Closures begin at Trim Springs Road and the forest boundary and extend back to that intersection.

The map below provided by the Rangers shows the closed area.

From the air and on the ground, firefighters are actively trying to extinguish the fire in the basin until late into the night.

On Saturday, flames burned 7,462 acres with no way to contain them. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Cews focused their efforts on the Balch camp area where they were trying to get ahead of the flames and build emergency lines.

Hundreds of firefighters, from California to Colorado, are on the front lines.

“We're going to continue to build this until we get to the appropriate size to handle this fire,” Lindbery said.

Meagan Baron and her friends came from San Francisco to camp at Mono Creek for the next few days.

Even though their region is not affected, they are closely monitoring the situation.

“We were concerned,” Baron said. “Just making sure we're in a place where we can go that's not close to the fire or in the path of the fire.”

But they are ready to evacuate at any time.

“We looked at the burn area, checked the daily reports and called the ranger,” Baron said. “I looked at what the best practices were. If I feel like we’re in close proximity to the fire, like if something changes while we’re on the trail.”

As July 4 approaches, authorities are stressing this reminder.

“We’re coming up on a holiday weekend,” Lindbery said. “We're going to have a lot of people on the roads and we're going to have firefighters on the roads. For people who are driving in the fire basin, you really have to be aware of the firefighters.”

Individuals who violate the closure order could face fines of up to $10,000. Officials are also urging citizens to check the Sierra National Forest website for up-to-date information.

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