Fire crews make significant progress containing 'Van Fire' in Mariposa County

MARIPOSA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fire crews made significant progress overnight on the Van Fire in Mariposa County as ground and air resources continued working to contain the blaze.

Charred hills, dry fields and hazy skies were visible across the county Thursday as firefighters battled the fire in a rural and remote area.

"When we have these wildfires, time is of the essence because wildfires can spread very quickly," said Jeff Smith with PG&E.

Numerous firefighting air tankers from across California were deployed to assist suppression efforts, including a C-130 air tanker from the Fresno Air Attack Base.

"The C130 has high-volume fire retarded up to 4000 gallons, making it a huge advantage for stopping the growth of fires," said Fresno County CAL FIRE Capt. Zach Irion.

As containment increased, crews shifted their focus to mop-up operations and locating lingering hot spots.

"They are utilizing a drone on their division using infrared cameras to pinpoint those hotspots so we can direct firefighters to cool those spots down," Irion said.

Officials said the fire's location created additional challenges for responders.

"It's a very windy area of the county. It's a very remote area of the county, and with the weather we've been having, it's been very, very warm," said Mariposa CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Mike Houk.

Additional aerial resources were also brought in to support firefighting efforts. Along with the C-130, PG&E deployed a Black Hawk helicopter based in Atwater.

"They're able to be filled with water and go over to these fire areas and dump just thousands of gallons of water in a short amount of time," Smith said.

At the Fresno Air Attack Base, crews were seen refilling fire retardant tanks as aircraft continued operations. CAL FIRE also used technology to aid firefighting efforts, including strategically placed cameras and artificial intelligence designed to model the fire's potential growth.

Houk said coordination between air and ground resources played a key role in the response.

"This was a combined effort. The aircraft don't put out the fires. They were hand-in-hand with our hand crews in our dozers and our water tankers, and it's that coordination between groups that gives us the best shot at containing a fire like this," Houk said.

Firefighters remained actively engaged Thursday as they worked toward full containment of the Van Fire.

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