The community of Hume Lake is under a mandatory evacuation order today after the southern flank of the Rough Fire crossed the Kings River. So far, the lightning sparked blaze has consumed over 23,600 acres. Tony Botti with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department says the biggest concern is the safety of area residents. His department ordered the evacuation late Tuesday afternoon.
Botti: "We had a bit of a game changing event today in that the Rough Fire hopped across Highway 180 and started heading toward the Hume Lake area. That made us here at the Fresno Sheriff's Office to send out mandatory evacuation notices to anybody in and around the Hume Lake area."
He says around 1,000 residents and visitors are under the evacuation order. Fire crews from Fresno and other communities have been called in to provide additional support in the Hume Lake area.
Botti: "We don't want anybody to get hurt so the best thing is to get everybody out of there and let the firefighters do their thing."
In addition to the evacuation order, Highway 180 is now closed at Grant Grove inside Kings Canyon National Park. The fire was sparked by lightning on July 31.
For the latest information about evacuations and the spread of the fire, visit Inciweb...
