On Tuesday, May 16th, 2023, at 3:53 pm, the Turlock Fire Department and California Highway Patrol were dispatched to a reported vegetation fire northbound State Route 99 just south of W Taylor Rd, Turlock.

When crews arrived on scene, they found a homeless encampment fire that had turned into an approximately 200 feet by 50 feet vegetation fire just east of the freeway.

Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control, however, had to remain on scene for an additional hour to fully extinguish the fire.

No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

The #3 northbound lane was blocked by the California Highway Patrol for the duration of the incident to allow firefighters to safely work.

This fire marks the first vegetation fire of the season. With temperatures continuing to rise higher than this time last year, it’s likely we’ll start to see more, even though last year’s vegetation fires started in early April with cooler temperatures.