The fire started around 4 pm at the Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in Oakhurst.
The Madera County Sheriff's Office has not yet identified the person who died, but neighbors say a woman lived in the home.
Resident Linda Hail says she was enjoying a quiet afternoon until smoke and screams filled the air.
"I looked out, I saw smoke coming from the first trailer on this side out of the back area and I yelled at my husband and said, 'Honey, there's a fire!' I grabbed my phone and he ran out because we knew there was a lady in there," said Hail.
"He went over there and broke a window around the back side, thought maybe he could go in, but it was too overwhelming."
Hail says she worked as a firefighter for more than seven years but had never seen a mobile home fire.
She was shocked by how quickly the flames spread.
She worried for the person inside the home, her other neighbors, and their homes.
"There was a lot of loud banging and bomb type sounding. I don't know what that was," recalled Hail.
"It was horrible actually."
Two mobile homes were destroyed and third's walls were left singed by the flames.
Hail's husband tried to save their neighbor who was killed in the fire, but wasn't able to.
She says her husband was able to rescue two cats and a dog from the other homes.
Investigators haven't determined the cause of the fire, but they are warning people to take precautions as temperatures drop overnight in the mountains.
"We ask people to be diligent, stay vigilant with what you do and checking your furnaces, your fireplaces. It is getting cold, but we're still in the transition," explained CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Jacob Ching.
The Red Cross is helping the people in the two other homes displaced by the fire.
The Madera County Sheriff's Office is expected to provide information on its part of the investigation on Saturday.
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