A wildfire in the Kern National Wildlife Refuge 36 miles northwest of Bakersfield, California had burned approximately 2,500 acres as of 10 p.m. PDT Tuesday night. The fire was reported at about 5 p.m. and at one point the Incident Commander said he had seen 100-foot flame lengths in the riparian area but by 10 p.m. firefighters were gaining some containment.
Wednesday morning the Kern County Fire Department announced that thanks to crews working throughout the night the fire was 100 percent contained and the size estimate remained at 2,500 acres.
All of these photos and videos were taken by the Kern County Fire Department.
#RefugeFire Update 6: @kerncountyfire firefighters coordinating with @CAL_FIRE tankers to successfully protect a threatened structure. #kerncountyfiredepartment pic.twitter.com/XUhiCmtqNZ
— Kern County Fire (@kerncountyfire) May 8, 2019
#RefugeFire Update 4: @kerncountyfire firefighters working against strong winds. Law enforcement on scene providing much needed road closure along Corcoran Rd. Thank you @CHPButtonwillow #kerncountyfiredepartment pic.twitter.com/RPR8bW0n0g
— Kern County Fire (@kerncountyfire) May 8, 2019
Dear Bill,
I am wondering why more news is not published about the causes of “wild”fires. If fires are wild are they caused by “natural” events like lightening? A human caused fire, while it spins wildly out of control should perhaps be given a different moniker to let humans know their role in the cause. And let news agency know it is human caused. And begin addressing these human causes-banning the sale of exploding targets(think Sharps Fire and numerous others), get more road closures to limit human invasions on motor vehicles, get early bans on campfires, do more evaluations of our aging power lines… should I go on or can you add to this list?
And get some more stringent punishment for the people who cause these fires, like non-incarceration public service.
Thanks,
Martha
A wildfire is called a wildfire because it burns on wild land.