Firefighters working to stop SCU Complex Fire from spreading to Hwy 152 in Gilroy

ByLuz Pena KGO logo

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Firefighters working to stop SCU Complex Fire from spreading

As the southern end of the 347,000-acre SCU Lightning Complex burns through Henry Coe State Park, crews worked to keep the flames from jumping Highway 152 in Gilroy.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- As the southern end of the 347,000-acre SCU Lightning Complex burns through Henry Coe State Park, crews worked to keep the flames from jumping Highway 152 in Gilroy.

ABC7 News found firefighters backburning land to create a buffer to stop the fire's progress. They tell us they are feeling hopeful. Even though the fire is still out of control, they say their strategies are working and the wind is pushing the fire away from the highway.

BAY AREA FIRE UPDATES: Latest on evacuation orders, road closures here

Many of those on the frontlines of the lightning fires statewide are from outside of the Bay Area.

We met one crew from Texas that arrived in the Bay Area at 2 a.m. By mid-morning, they were battling ferocious flames in an unfamiliar terrain.

VIDEO: Video shows terrifying escape through flames of LNU Lightning Complex fires

As if the call to evacuate wasn't scary enough, the road out was harrowing. One evacuee in Winters, Calif. recorded this as he drove through the fire while evacuating.

Even though the landscape is different for these crews, the firefighting skills are the same.

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