Kern County Lightning Fires: Proclamation of Local Emergency 15,000 acres

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Kern County Lightning Fires: Proclamation of Local Emergency 15,000 acres

CA-KRN-Keene Complex #CaFire

KERN COUNTY – Saturday, September 10, 2011, 09:31 A.M. The Kern County Fire Department has been responding to multiple vegetation fires started by lightning strikes throughout the night and early morning.

Kern County firefighters are currently battling approximately 40 vegetation fires throughout the county. Crews in the vicinity of Granite Rd. and Round Mountain Rd. are protecting structures that are threatened by three fires burning in that area. Firefighters are also on scene of five separate fires in the Keene area and additional resources are responding to protect structures.

Other areas that are effected by fires include: Lebec, Tejon Ranch, Stallion Springs, Piute Mountain, Tehachapi, Keene, Kelso Valley, Taft, Maricopa.

The Kern County Fire Department will continue to release more information regarding these fires as it becomes available.

CA-KRN-Keene Complex

Incident Time: 03:18:00 AM
Incident Date: 09-10-2011
Incident Type: Vegetation Fires
Resources Used: Various
Assisting Agencies: CAL FIRE, CAL EMA, KCSO, CHP
Cause: Lightning

Road Closures Update

KERN COUNTY – As of 9:00 P.M., the following road closures are in effect in Kern County:

• Caliente Creek Road between Lions Trail and Bodfish Canyon Road

• Caliente Bodfish Road between Rankin Ranch and Caliente Creek Road

• Round Mountain Road at Granite Road

• Granite Road at Famoso Road

• Breckenridge Road at Comanche Road

• Walker Basin at Bodfish Canyon Road

• Woodford-Tehachapi Road between Golden Hills and Tehachapi Loop

• 178 closed at the mouth of the canyon

• Pinon Canyon at Woodford Tehachapi Road

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Proclamation of Local Emergency

KERN COUNTY –Due to the extent of fire activity caused by lightning strikes that have occurred since 1:30 a.m. on September 10, 2011, a Proclamation of Local Emergency has been ordered for the County of Kern.

More than 50 wild land fires are burning and have consumed an estimated 15,000 wild land acres. Three major fires, which are estimated at 0% containment, pose a continuing threat to residential structures. These major fires have been dubbed the Black Fire, Indian Fire and the Comanche Fire.

Precautionary evacuation messages have been disseminated via ReadyKern for the Keene, Hart Flat, Bear Valley, Golden Hills and Stallion Springs communities. Widespread evacuations and sheltering operations may become necessary in the future depending on fire activity.

The Kern County Fire Department estimates that hundreds of homes in these areas are at risk and is administering the process to request assistance under a Fire Management Assistance Grant. Two CAL Fire Type 1 Incident Management Teams are assisting local efforts to fight these fires. The number and distribution of fire activity has created an enormous resource challenge. Additional firefighting resources throughout California have been requested and are en-route for deployment within Kern County. The Kern EOC is currently activated at level 1 status. The potential for additional dry lightning strikes through the weekend may cause additional fire activity. For many of these fires, steep terrain, heavy brush, large amounts of fuel, low humidity and erratic wind conditions pose extremely difficult challenges for firefighters. Firefighters will continue to be diligent in fighting these fires.

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Road Closures

KERN COUNTY – The following road closures are in effect in Kern County:

Caliente Creek Road between Lions Trail and Bodfish Canyon Road
Caliente Bodfish Road between Rankin Ranch and Caliente Creek Road
Round Mountain Road at Granite Road
Granite Road at Famoso Road
Breckenridge Road at Comanche Road
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Agency Link: Kern County Fire Department Incident Link

California Fire News 2011

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

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Saturday, September 10, 2011