Fires Ignite Across California Hills, Prompt Evacuations

Lead Multiple wildfires erupted across California on Friday, September 5, threatening homes, triggering evacuation orders and testing firefighting resources from Southern California to the Sierra foothills.

Nut Graf From a lightning-sparked complex in the Sierra to brush fires near San Luis Obispo and Jurupa Valley, the spate of blazes underscores the state’s lingering dry-season risks and the growing challenge of protecting communities and infrastructure.

Key Incidents

  • Pyrite Fire, Jurupa Valley A 15-acre brush fire ignited at 5:19 p.m. near Pyrite Street and Granite Hills Drive, scorching light fuels in hilly terrain. By 6:45 p.m., the fire ballooned to 140 acres, prompting evacuation orders for nearby Jurupa Hills and Sunnyslope residents as hand crews and a helicopter worked containment.
  • Vegetation Fire, West of San Luis Obispo Fire crews battled a 25-acre blaze along Black Walnut Road, issuing evacuation warnings within a mile-wide corridor near Happy Trails Road. Five structures were immediately threatened when the fire was first reported at approximately ten acres.
  • Spring Valley Brush Fire The “Lodge Fire” ignited before 2 p.m. along Jamacha and Sweetwater Springs boulevards, blackening 75 acres of hillside vegetation and forcing temporary evacuation orders. Ground crews supported by air tankers halted its forward spread and lifted the shelter-in-place order by late afternoon, achieving 5 percent containment.
  • TCU September Lightning Complex, Sierra Foothills Dozens of lightning strikes earlier in the week spawned multiple fires across Tuolumne, Stanislaus and Calaveras counties. The Complex has already torched nearly 14,000 acres, destroyed buildings in Chinese Camp and forced mass evacuations as crews battle extreme fire behavior.

Resource Mobilization and Outlook

California’s firefighting agencies have mobilized multiple complex incident management teams, engines, crews and helicopters statewide. Evacuation centers and road closures remain in effect around all active perimeters. State forecasters warn that above-normal fire potential persists through November, driven by hot, dry conditions and recurrent lightning storms.

Residents in high-risk areas are urged to monitor local alerts, prepare evacuation kits and limit outdoor activity when air quality deteriorates due to smoke.