Crews take precautions while battling Morgan Fire near Prather
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Crews on the fire lines near Prather are finding ways to adapt to the triple digits.
The fire broke out Monday afternoon near the 16000 block of Morgan Canyon Road and is now 60 percent contained. The Morgan Fire started up a hill when a guy was using equipment and sparked the dry grass nearby.
The flames have charred about 40 acres, and if it weren't for a couple young neighbors, the flames could've caused a lot more damage.
Firefighters caught a rest in the middle of a burned landscape Tuesday, enjoying the fruits of their hard labor. A day earlier, they'd controlled the Morgan Fire, saving this home and possibly others. The fire line came right up to the defensible space the homeowner carved out, and the fire surrounded the place, but spared the home.
"If everybody was doing that, it'd make it safer for us, faster and more efficient," said Cal Fire Fresno spokesman Capt. Ryan Michaels.
Water, shade and rest are defense strategies for firefighters mopping up a fire they've mostly contained -- turning a sprint into a marathon. They know though at any moment the next fire could spark and they'll be right back in sprint mode.
Several left Prather to fight a two-alarm fire on Cherry Avenue that destroyed an abandoned mobile home and damaged three other structures.
But they also have help. Dyllon Balmer and Dylan Hatcher were first to fight the Morgan Fire.
"We saw big smoke bombs come up," said Hatcher.
They hauled three 100-foot garden hoses to the fire lines and held the fire at bay until the big hoses got there.
"We were filling up buckets and dumping buckets on it; that helped," said Balmer. "We also had shovels to shovel dirt over the fire to put it out and pad it out. I didn't really think we were going to pull it off, but I guess we did."
Firefighters say the two boys did a great job, but that was pretty dangerous and usually garden hoses really don't stand a chance against wildfires. They're hoping to fully contain this fire Tuesday night.
