Merced County issues evacuation warning about massive NorCal wildfire

The Merced County Sheriff's Office has issued an evacuation warning for some areas that may be threatened by a massive wildfire blazing out of control in northern California.

The wildfire is made up of a cluster of 20 separate lightning-sparked fires called the SCU Lightning complex threatening about 1,400 structures in rugged terrain with dense brush.

Track wildfires across Central California and the state with this interactive map
[Ads /]
The Merced County Sheriff's Office says the fire may not make it to Merced County, but they've issued the warning to keep residents informed of the potential for danger.

The warning is for the area:

North of Hwy 152 to I-5 to the Santa Clara County Line and Stanislaus County Line.

West of the I-5, excluding the community of Santa Nella

East of Santa Clara County Line and Stanislaus County Line to the Delta Mendota Canal

South of the Stanislaus County Line to Hwy 152

[Ads /]
The warning is not a mandatory evacuation, but they are urging residents to prepare for one if conditions change.

RELATED: How to prepare for a wildfire evacuation

In the event of an evacuation, the temporary evacuation point will be the Los Banos Fairgrounds located at 403 F Street Los Banos CA.



Anyone in need of temporary shelter due to evacuation can contact 209-385-3000 ext. 5455.



For questions regarding the SCU Lighting Complex Fire, you can call CAL FIRE at 669-247-7431 or visit the CALFIre Incident Website.

(This story contains inputs from the Associated Press)