Fires spread, but crews make progress - KGET 17
Although hundreds of people in the mountains east of Bakersfield were warned evacuations might become necessary, no evacuations were ordered.
A "State of Emergency" remained in place for Kern County because of the number of fires, and an emergency command post remained activated Sunday afternoon.
The several injuries reported were all described as minor.
The latest information is available at a county call center. Residents can call 211 or 661-873-2680 for information. Hundreds of calls were received.
Information also is available from the Kern County Fire Department webpage, or from the KCFD Facebook page.
PG&E crews were restoring power throughout the county, but some isolated areas remained without electricity. In the town of Tupman, west of Interstate 5, one residents said neighbors who relied on medical machines were endangered because of the outage there.
At one point Saturday, 50 fires were burning, all caused by the spectacular lightning storm that started about 3 a.m. Saturday or by a second storm that hit Saturday afternoon.
In all, about 34,000 acres burned countywide.
Two of the biggest fires, and the most danger to homes and other structures, were "complexes" – groups of small fires clustered in the same area.
They are:
- The Comanche Complex, four major fires which spread from Interstate 5 near the Grapevine to the hills on the south side of Highway 58 near Arvin, have blackened about 16,500 acres;
- The Keene Complex, where three major fires in mountains north of the community of Keene, have burned about 6,200 acres.
The Harris Fire, which is part of the Comanche Complex, is menacing the mountain communities of Bear Valley Springs, Stallion Springs, and Golden Hills. Precautionary evacuations have been posted there, meaning residents have been advised they may have to leave their homes if conditions worsen. As of 1 p.m. Sunday, conditions had not worsened.
About 300 firefighters, 30 fire engines, a helicopter, and three bulldozers were on the working to get containment of the Comanche fires.
The Keene Complex fires are in the mountains around Caliente Creek Road and Walker Basin Road, between the community of Caliente Creek and the Lake Isabella area.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says 500 structures are threatened by those three fires.
In addition, the Milano fire, which is burning on Breckenridge Road east of Comanche Drive in the Walker Basin, has charred about 10,000 acres. Containment is unknown.
More than 1,300 firefighters from as far away as Oregon are working the Keene fires.
"The weather is a double-edged sword today," said Paul Lowenthal of the City of Santa Rosa Fire Department, who was assigned to the Keene Complex headquarters. "It's breezy, with no cloud cover. That's bad. It dries things out, which is, obviously, a concern of ours. But there's no new lightning today, which is good for us."
Highway 178, which had been closed by a two fires Saturday night, was re-opened Sunday.
"Hard closures," meaning no one is permitted, were in effect Sunday afternoon for parts of Caliente Creek Road, Caliente-Bodfish Road, Walker Basin Road, and
Caliente Bodfish Road between Rankin Ranch and Caliente Creek Road.
"Soft closures," in which residents only are permitted, were in place on Pinion Canyon at Woodford Tehachapi Road, Woodford-Tehachapi Road between Golden Hills and Keene, Woodford-Tehachapi Road between Keene and Tehachapi, Walker Basin, Caliente Bodfish Road and Breckenridge Road and Comanche Drive.
A football game between Bakersfield College and Saddleback College, which was cancelled because of lightning Saturday, has been rescheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. at BC's Memorial Stadium. Tickets for Saturday's game will be honored, and tickets will be on sale in the Bakersfield College Ticket Office or available for purchase at the gates.
All planned festivities, including free admission for military, police and fire, will continue as planned, and the halftime tribute to those who have served our country will still take place.
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