Fire destroys two RVs in Central Fresno, crews search for occupants

Flames tore through two RVs near Belmont and Glenn avenues in Central Fresno on Friday night, and firefighters were forced to search the burned wreckage after a neighbor said two people who may have lived in the vehicles had not been seen. Crews arrived just after 11 p.m. and found fire shooting as high as 30 feet into the air.

One of the destroyed vehicles was a large motorhome parked behind a home and close to a commercial building, a setup that heightened concern because of how tightly packed the area was. Officials said the fire was contained to the two RVs and the outside of a nearby building, but both vehicles were declared total losses.

The question hanging over the scene was not only how the fire started, but who may have been inside when it broke out. Firefighters searched through the remains for possible victims, though no update had been released on whether anyone was found or injured. The cause had not been determined. For a neighborhood like this one, where vehicles can double as shelter, the difference between a property fire and a displacement case can be thin and immediate.

The Fresno Fire Department, which has served the city since 1877, operates 20 stations across Fresno. Its Fire Investigations Unit leads cases involving injuries, fatalities, high-dollar loss, high-profile incidents, or illegal activity with a fire nexus, and works with agencies including Fresno Police, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Justice, ATF and FBI when needed.

The incident also lands in the middle of Fresno County’s broader homelessness crisis. County data for 2024 counted 4,305 people experiencing homelessness in Fresno County, including 2,758 who were unsheltered. County officials said they adopted a regional homelessness action plan in March 2024 with the City of Fresno, Madera County and the Fresno-Madera Continuum of Care.

That context makes the fire more than a night of heavy smoke and charred metal. In Central Fresno, where RVs are sometimes used as makeshift housing, one blaze can become a test of neighborhood safety, emergency response and the region’s ability to keep people from disappearing into the wreckage.