Forward progress on Rector Fire in Yokuts Valley stopped
YOKUTS VALLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Flames consumed dry brush and plumes of smoke filled the air in Yokuts Valley Monday afternoon as the Rector Fire burned through a hillside.
Forward progress on the flames has been stopped, which has burned at least 56 acres and is 35% contained.
Dolores Kennedy was on her porch when the blaze started around 4:30.
"I saw black smoke from across the street up high," Kennedy said.
The fire caused road closures and evacuation warnings near Recter Lane and Elwood Road.
"It's a little scary seeing it how close it is like literally right behind you and the smoke," Yokuts Valley resident, Leanna Bracamontes-Hernadez said.
CAL FIRE crews are getting a handle on the fire from the ground and air.
The first fire engine on scene reported the blaze at around 10 acres, jumping to about 50 acres.
"It grew fairly fast with the winds that we had and the dry grass," CAL FIRE/ Fresno County Fire PIO, Gary Couch explained.
The flames ripped through people's backyards-getting within feet of their homes.
"In the area, there was about 10 homes threatened," Couch stated.
CAL FIRE says two structures were lost in the fire.
PG&E crews were also on scene, as around 23 customers were without power. As of Tuesday morning, all power has been restored.
Some homeowners now creating a plan of action in case of another emergency.
"If we have to pick up and go, we have bags and we just go," Bracamontes-Hernadez said.
Detectives are now combing through the area to see what sparked the fire.
The cause remains under investigation.
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