9/12/15 - On Saturday, Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies issued evacuation warnings for the area along Hopewell Road north of Highway 180 and east to the Sequoia National Forest boundary.
The Sheriff’s Office would also like to warn hunters and other off-road enthusiasts to drive carefully and have a heightened awareness of fire personnel actively working in the area, particularly in Balch Camp.
All other previously issued evacuation notices, mandatory and warning, remain in effect.
9/11/15 - The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and fire officials would like to clarify the guidelines of the current evacuation situation.
Residents who have a Dunlap, Miramonte, or Pinehurst zip code must understand they are considered to be in either a mandatory evacuation area or an evacuation warning area.
Mandatory Evacuation Areas
-All properties on the north and south sides of Highway 180 east of the Highway 180/Dunlap Road junction.
-All properties adjacent to the north side of Dunlap Road from the Highway 180/Dunlap Road junction to the Dunlap Road/Millwood Road Junction.
-All properties on both sides of Millwood Road.
-All properties on both sides of Todd Eymann Road from Millwood Road to Highway 245.
-All properties on both sides of Highway 245 from Todd Eymann Road to Highway 180.
Evacuation Warning Areas
-All properties on the south side of Dunlap Road from the Highway 180/Dunlap Road junction east to the Dunlap Road/Millwood Road junction
-All properties on both sides of Dunlap Road from the Dunlap Road/Millwood Road junction east to the Dunlap Road/Highway 245 junction.
-All properties on both sides of Brookside Road.
9/10/15 - At 6:00 am on Friday, Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies will go door to door and distribute mandatory evacuation notices to certain residents in Dunlap.
The starting point will be on Millwood Road, 1 ½ miles east of where Dunlap Rd. and Millwood Rd. intersect. The notices will be handed out along Todd Eymann Rd. and up along Hwy. 245 where it meets Hwy. 180.
Deputies are urging residents to be out of the area by 12:00 pm. The exit route for motorists will be Dunlap Rd., past the school and back out to Hwy. 180. Residents shall not drive on Millwood Rd. Folks are encouraged to use the overnight hours to get their belongings in order.
9/10/15 - Due to dangerous conditions posed by the progression of the Rough Fire Thursday, mandatory evacuation notices went into effect for the area north of Highway 180 that stretches from Hopewell Road to the west, to the Armenian Church Camp Western in the center and Happy Gap / Sequoia Lake to the east. This area had previously been under an evacuation warning.
Evacuation warning notices continue to be in place for people living in the communities of Pinehurst, Miramonte and other areas of Dunlap. All residents should continue to prepare to leave at a moment’s notice.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Calfornia Highway Patrol and CalTrans to enforce road closures, which include:
-Highway 180 east of Dunlap Road (Dunlap Road does remain open to people traveling into the communities of Pinehurst, Miramonte and Dunlap.
-Millwood Road at Dunlap Road is closed to motorists.
-Highway 245 at the USFS Work Center in Pinehurst is closed to motorists.
-Highway 198 at Red Fir is closed into Kings Canyon National Park.
9/8/15 - On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office also expanded its area for mandatory evacuation notices. The areas are as follows:
-Summit Meadow, Fresno County
-Goins Ranch, Fresno County
-Marvin Pass, Fresno County
Mandatory evacuations notices issued on Monday remain in effect. The impacted area is to the north of Dunlap. More specifically, it’s the area of U.S. Forest Service Road 12S01 and Sampson Flat Road, which serves as the most southern point. The community of Crabtree is the most northern point. The western border is U.S. Forest Service Road 12S19 (Delilah Spring) and the eastern border is Cherry Gap, which is near the intersection of U.S. Forest Service Road 13S03 / Hwy. 180.
The areas of Hume Lake, Kings Canyon Lodge and Kennedy Meadows were previously issued mandatory evacuation notices. Those notices still remain in effect.
Track the latest information about the Rough Fire at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4456/
Definitions of Fire Terms
An evacuation warning is defined as an alert to community members in an area of a potential threat to life and property from an emergency incident. An evacuation warning may be issued when the potential or actual threat to civilian life is more than 2 hours away. When a warning is issued, residents are being warned to prepare to leave their home. The Sheriff’s Office tries to issue the advisory as early as possible based upon the fire's activity so residents will have time to remove their pets, livestock, large boats, RV's and any other personal effects in an orderly, unrushed manner. However, because a wildfire can be unpredictable, the time frame between an advisory and a mandatory evacuation can change quickly. You must be prepared to go at any time.
A mandatory evacuation is declared when a wildfire directly threatens a community and residents are placed in danger. You must leave the area for you and your family's safety. Once you leave, you will not be allowed to return to your property until the mandatory evacuation is lifted.
The principle of evacuation is to move citizens from a place of relative danger to a place of relative safety, via a route that does not pose significant danger. Below is an explanation to common legal concerns during these circumstances.
According to Penal Code Section 409.5 (c), any unauthorized person who willfully and knowingly enters an area closed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) and who willfully remains within the area after receiving notice to evacuate or leave shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
This misdemeanor occurs only if a person both enters a closed disaster area knowing it to be closed and subsequently refuses to leave when ordered to do so.
No crime is committed by a person occupying his or her home prior to the closing of the area and subsequently refuses to leave when ordered to do so.
While it is evident that PC 409.5 contains the authority to dissuade persons from entering an area designated as an emergency area, it cannot be used to mandate persons into leaving their residence. The overriding concern of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office is the safety of its citizens in the unincorporated areas.
For more answers to commonly asked questions regarding an evacuation situation, visit https://www.fresnosheriff.org/community/fire-season-information.html
