91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Local News

September Lightning Complex fires scorch nearly 14,000 acres in Central California; containment passes 50%

By
Tim Fang
Digital News Producer, CBS Bay Area
Tim Fang is a digital producer at CBS Bay Area. A Bay Area native, Tim has been a part of the CBS Bay Area newsroom for more than two decades and joined the digital staff in 2006.
Read Full Bio
Tim Fang,
Richard Ramos
Web Producer, CBS Sacramento
Richard Ramos is a web producer for CBS Sacramento who was born and raised in Sacramento. He graduated with a BA in Journalism from CSUS.
Read Full Bio
Richard Ramos,
Brandon Downs
Digital Content Producer, CBS Sacramento
Brandon Downs is a digital content producer at CBS Sacramento.
Read Full Bio
Brandon Downs

/ CBS Sacramento

Most evacuation orders issued for the September Lightning Complex fires were lifted after nearly 100 structures were destroyed in the fires. 

The major fires that forced people to flee included the 2-7 Fire just east in Calaveras County and the 6-5 Fire in Tuolumne County.  Evacuation orders were also issued for a third fire, the 2-2 Fire in the northern corner of Stanislaus County.

Cal Fire's Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit stated that those three fires are among 22 that comprise , which has combined to burn nearly 14,000 acres as of Sunday. Cal Fire reported 57% containment.

"Today, minimal fire activity was observed with smoldering pockets continuing to be found throughout the complex," the agency said on Thursday.

Crews continue to build containment lines and strengthen containment lines that were already established.

As for damage, Cal Fire said 95 structures were destroyed and seven were damaged. It's unclear how many of those were homes. 

Damage in California Gold Rush town of Chinese Camp  

The 6-5 Fire exploded to more than 7,000 acres burned with 10% containment reported as of  Saturday, . This fire was burning on the north end of Don Pedro Reservoir, causing "a lot of destruction" to the area of the historic Chinese Camp, according to Tuolumne County District 5 Supervisor Jaron Brandon.

Surveillance video obtained by CBS Sacramento shows the Chinese Camp Cemetery caught fire. Additionally, a CBS Sacramento crew in the area captured images of burned homes and other buildings. No injuries have been reported.

dmc-6-5-fire-home-burning-raw.jpg

, the 2-2 Fire was first reported shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday near Highway 4 and Dunton Road, west of the town of Copperopolis in Calaveras County. The fire has burned more than 3,400 acres with 100% containment, according to Cal Fire.

Around noon on Tuesday, authorities in Calaveras County announced the 2-7 Fire broke out near the Vallecito region off Highway 4. Traffic on the highway has not been impacted, according to the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office.

The 2-7 Fire has burned approximately 606 acres with 50% containment reported, . has also burned around 1,326 acres in Copperopolis along Little John Road, with 50% containment.

Crews were also battling a fire dubbed the 2-3 Fire, which was first reported around 7:20 a.m. Tuesday near O'Byrnes Ferry Road and Copper Cove Court southeast of Copperopolis. The fire has burned at least 290 acres with 50% containment.

There were a handful of other fires that burned anywhere from 2 to 40 acres in the region.  

The fires started as thunderstorms rolled through much of the Central Valley and the Bay Area. Cal Fire TCU said the fires were all believed to have been started by lightning.

Evacuation orders and road closures for the 6-5 Fire

A mandatory evacuation order was issued for the north end of Don Pedro Reservoir up north to Chinese Camp, where Highway 49 and Highway 108 meet. showing the affected area.

Cal Fire said the Sonora Senior Center at 540 Greenley Road in Sonora was an acting evacuation shelter. Chicken Rancho Casino Resort in Jamestown said offered a complimentary night's stay to evacuees with a valid ID.

Caltrans said the Highway 120 and Highway 108 divide, known as Yosemite junction, was closed due to the fire. Highway 120 was closed from Chinese Camp to Jacksonville Road. 

Evacuation orders for 2-7 Fire

A handful of zones were placed in evacuation orders, including the town of Chiense Camp. By Friday, all evacuation orders were lifted, allowing residents to return home. However, some zones remained in evacuation warnings. The latest on evacuations for the 2-7 Fire can be .

Bret Harte High School at 364 Murphys Grade Road in Angels Camp was serving as an evacuation shelter.

Evacuation orders and road closures for 2-2 Fire

The 2-2 Fire prompted the closure of Highway 4 on Tuesday between Escalon Bellota Road in San Joaquin County and Telegraph Road in Calaveras County. It reopened in the afternoon.

As of about 11:45 a.m., the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office announced an evacuation order for zones CCU-155 and CCU-152-A, near the Calaveras-Stanislaus county line. Deputies said the affected area includes the Diamond 20 Ranch Estates along the north side of Highway 4.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, all orders for the 2-2 Fire were no longer in place.

In:

© 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=fd53910ecf4604072044ab7c46d9b028'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });