Los Angeles, California — Kern County — in southern California — was under a state of emergency Wednesday as a result of spreading wildfires that have destroyed 25 homes, caused more than 2,300 people to evacuate and burned 15,000 acres.
On Tuesday afternoon, firefighters were called to a new wild fire southeast of Tehachapi. By late Tuesday night the fire had grown, threatening 150 structures, authorities reported. Fire crews battled through the night with aircraft, fire engines, and bulldozers. Crews worked throughout the night protecting homes and trying to contain the blaze.
An evacuation center was set up at the old junior high school nearby for evacuees and their pets. Animal control was taking large animals, authorities said.
In addition, more than 1,000 firefighters continued to battle a blaze Wednesday in California’s Sequoia National Forest, north of Tehachapi. As of Tuesday afternoon, that fire had spread across roughly 6,000 acres, U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Michelle Puckett said. The bureau is working with the U.S. Forest Service and the Kern County Fire Department to fight the blaze.
“The fire is not contained at this time,” Puckett said Tuesday afternoon. “Firefighters are aggressively trying to contain this fire with the winds and the weather changes.”
She said that higher temperatures have helped stoke the flames. The Sequoia fire started about 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. Puckett said the cause of the blaze is under investigation, but “we’ve heard reports that it might be human caused.”
Authorities evacuated campers as well as residents in the Riverkern community, where six homes were destroyed.
Visitors and residents are warned to keep their car and house windows closed, as there is a lot of smoke in the area, Puckett said. Puckett said wildfires can be sparked by people using off-road vehicles and lawn equipment during midday. She said that using such equipment during early morning and evening hours, when temperatures are lower and humidity is higher, can help minimize the risk of starting a fire.
The national forest of 1.2 million acres is one of 19 national forests in California. It takes its name from the giant sequoia, the world’s largest tree, which grows in more than 30 groves on the forest’s lower slopes.
This is a prime time for tourism in the area, with no vacancies at hotels and bed-and-breakfasts, Puckett said.
Kern County is approximately 130 miles north of Los Angeles.
