7,500-acre vegetation fire forces evacuations near SLO County line
A 7,500-acre vegetation fire was burning Friday morning just over the San Luis Obispo County border, forcing evacuations in Kern County.
The Lost Fire ignited in the Lost Hills of Kern County on Thursday morning at around 9 a.m., quickly growing to thousands of acres in 24 hours while containment remains at a mere 5%, according to emergency response app Watch Duty.
The fire is approximately 35 miles west of Bakersfield and north of the Carrizo Plains, according to Cal Fire. Highway 58 cuts directly through the evacuation warning zones.
The fire continued to actively burn overnight with winds along uphill terrain encouraging significant fire growth, according to Watch Duty.
At 8:14 a.m., one firefighting aircraft was overhead and two more air tankers had been requested, according to the app.
Evacuation orders have been issued in three areas surrounding the fire in Kern County, and two more areas have been put on evacuation warnings, according to the app. Road closures are also in effect in the evacuation areas.
The fire nor any evacuation orders have yet crossed the border into SLO County.
