| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Wildfire burns 75 acres in Fresno County
Thursday June 19, 2003AUBERRY, Calif. (AP) A wildfire burned 75 acres in the rural Fresno County foothills on Thursday after a man illegally burned trash and newspapers in a barrel, fire officials said.
California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Karen Terrill said the blaze, which started near Auberry and Prather, was nearly contained by the evening.
No structures were damaged. One firefighter became ill while he was on the scene and treated at a local hospital. Terrill said the firefighter's condition wasn't related to the blaze, which centered 30 miles northeast of Fresno and 10 miles west of Shaver Lake..
CDF issued a citation to the 85-year-old man who allegedly set fire to the debris on his property, Terrill said.
Terrill said local residents left their homes voluntarily this morning soon after the fire broke out at about 10:40 a.m.
Authorities opened up all roads leading to the affected area at 5 p.m. to allow residents back to their homes, she said.
(