Wildfire in Fresno County forces evacuations

FRESNO COUNTY (KFSN) -- UPDATE: Fire officials say the fire is now 100 percent contained.

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Dozens of foothill families are relieved their homes are standing after a wildfire tore through Auberry Road near Prather.

Smoldering trees and pockets of flames dot the sides of Auberry Road now. A much calmer sight than what neighbors saw hours ago.

"I was floored, scared, worried-- where am I going to sleep," said Rachel Bishop, lives near the fire.

The fire burned so close to homes Fresno County Sheriff's deputies issued an evacuation order.

Dozens more had gathered their things, preparing to leave.

"We just packed up our clothes, shoes, some valuables, and packed them in the car and that was it, and just waited for Sheriff's to tell us if we had to leave or not," said Ashlee Hancock, lives near the fire.

The fiery backdrop was a familiar sight for many of these families. Just last year lightning struck a tower on these hills. Battalion Chief Chris Bump was at that fire.

"That did help today, I got an idea of a history of the fires in this area and how it's going to run."

That experience and a readily supply of resources helped Cal Fire stop a bad situation for getting worse.

"Even with the fire stations in the area and the aircraft that was immediately on the fire, we still went to 123 acres, and lost 5 outbuildings," said Bump.

All roads were reopened Friday night and evacuations only remain in effect for those living in the fire perimeter on White Thorne Road.

Residents said they are lucky to have escaped two infernos.

"Thank the lord above we are okay, and hopefully others are okay too," said Hancock.

Cal Fire said air support and helicopters will be back in the air Saturday.

They are now focusing on mopping up hotspots.