COARSEGOLD – A fire along Highway 41 yesterday just north of Road 200 had traffic backed up in both directions for miles due to smoke across the roadway.
Just before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, a report came in of a grass fire burning along Highway 41 near Yosemite Springs Parkway.
With the current dry conditions, a full wildland dispatch was called up. The first engine on scene estimated the blaze at about one-quarter of an acre and the Command Center called off all resources except three engines already arriving on-scene, including Cal Fire Engines 4285, 4295 and Madera County Fire Department’s Engine 8.
However, with the amount of smoke billowing across the highway causing danger to motorists due to limited visibility, and the presence of fire equipment along the road, traffic control was put in place allowing one lane at a time through the area, causing major backups in both directions.
Firefighters held the line at one-quarter acre, and had the fire contained shortly after arriving on scene, though the traffic took a while to clear. Full control and mopup was completed with the last engine leaving the incident at 4:37 p.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
