'Explosive' California Wildfire Claims 250 Structures: 'There's Nothing, Just Ashes'

Eric Chaney, weather.com
Published: June 28,2016

Residents of more than half a dozen communities in Kern County are being allowed to return to their homes after evacuating ahead of the Erskine Fire, though some areas still do not have power or water.
The fire consumed at least 250 structures, including Sallie Keeling's South Lake home where she and her husband had lived for 13 years.
"There's nothing," she said, covered in soot after digging through the rubble. "Just ashes."
More homes are expected to burn as the blaze that has left two dead continues to devour areas of rural communities in the southern Sierra Nevada. Houses could be vulnerable if winds blow the fire back toward some of the communities in the popular recreation area, Fire Chief Brian Marshall said.
"There's still more threats out there," Marshall said. "This is going to go down as the most destructive wildfire in Kern County history."
The fire, which had grown to more than 70 square miles Tuesday morning,
The fire, which was described to FOX 11 by veteran firefighters as "explosive," grew from roughly 5,000 acres on Thursday to 30,000 acres by Friday night. By Tuesday, the blaze had burned more than 45,000 acres, but was 45 percent contained as it burned in steep terrain south of Lake Isabella.
California Gov. Jerry Brown issued a state of emergency for Kern County on Friday.
Brown expressed his sympathies to those affected in a press release, NBC Southern California reported, saying, "Anne and I extend our heartfelt sympathies to everyone impacted by this destructive blaze. We join all Californians in expressing our gratitude to the courageous firefighters, emergency personnel and volunteers working tirelessly throughout Kern County to help residents and extinguish this fire."
Here is the latest on these fires:

Erskine Fire

The brown and orange shaded areas in this satellite image from June 24, 2016 shows the burn area from the Erskine Fire just south of Lake Isabella.
(NASA)

Two people have been killed in the Erskine Fire, which has consumed around more than 45,000 acres near Lake Isabella. According to Fox 11, the deceased were an older couple living in Lake Isabella, one of nearly a dozen communities that were forced to evacuate due to the blaze. They were overcome by smoke as they tried to flee.
Saturday authorities found what may be human remains in an area burned by the fire.
Kern County Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt told the Associated Press that because the remains were badly burned, a forensic investigation will determine whether they belonged to a person or an animal.
The remains were found in a mobile home that was burned when the fire tore through the South Lake community in the southern Sierra Nevada Thursday night. Three firefighters suffered smoke inhalation injuries battling the fire, which was 45 percent contained as of Tuesday morning.
Approximately 250 structures have already been lost. Several thousand people were forced to evacuate from nearly a dozen communities in the area.
"I've never been in a wildland fire where I've seen so many homes burn," Kern County fire Capt. Tyler Townsend told the Associated Press. "It's one of the most devastating I've ever seen."
Kernville Elementary School is now the primary shelter for evacuees. The Red Cross Safe & Well site is available for those looking for loved ones affected by evacuations: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php.
Hillside homes along dirt roads were consumed by heavy flames in Squirrel Mountain Valley, a community of about 500 people. Smoky haze could be seen for miles around, and orange flames lit the evening air as planes and helicopters dropped water and retardant.
Many of the houses in the area have propane tanks that added to the danger, and some residents were refusing to evacuate, Townsend said.

San Gabriel Complex

Improved weather in the aftermath of a severe heat wave allowed firefighters to make progress against two fires in the steep San Gabriel Mountains 20 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Some evacuations below in the foothill city of Duarte were lifted.
A fleet of helicopters and air tankers and other resources are helping fight the fires totaling nearly 5,400 acres. As of Monday morning, both fires were around 70 percent contained.

"It's very hard for the firefighters to engage the fire safely, but they are out there doing so," incident commander Mike Wakoski said. "It's in a real inaccessible area."
Some of the residents who live in the Las Lomas area of the city of Duarte were able return to their homes, but all other evacuations remain in effect.
No homes have been lost, though flames have come close at times. More than 850 homes were ordered evacuated earlier this week, and 534 were cleared for residents' return Wednesday.
Near the Mexican border, two residences and 11 outbuildings burned in a wildfire about 40 miles southeast of San Diego. A thousand structures were threatened by the blaze, which grew to just over 10 square miles and was only partially contained.
Falling temperatures, rising humidity and cloud cover has helped, said Capt. Kendal Bortisser of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But firefighters still must deal with rough terrain and vegetation that has not burned in decades, he said.

Weather also helped on the rugged coast west of Santa Barbara. Fog moved into the area scorched by a blaze that began more than a week ago, and most mandatory evacuations were called off. With the more than 12-square-mile fire almost fully surrounded, firefighters shifted focus to battling hot spots within containment lines.

More Fires Around the West

Elsewhere in the West, a forest fire near the Colorado-Wyoming line exploded in size and forced campers to evacuate.
A shift in the wind turned a blaze burning slowly in a heavily wooded area with no permanent residents into a fast-moving threat, growing from 1 square mile to about 5. Trees killed by a beetle infestation were fueling the flames 140 miles north of Denver and 2 miles from Wyoming.
No more than 100 campers and people staying in cabins fled, Routt National Forest spokesman Aaron Voos said. More firefighters were expected, but getting more help was difficult because of the other Western blazes.
Saturday officials told the Associated Press that 40 residences or cabins remain at risk and only a few structures have burned so far.
In southwest Utah, the Saddle Fire forced evacuations of at least 185 homes in the town of Pine Valley, about 35 miles north of the city of St. George. As of Sunday, the blaze has claimed 1,234 acres.
Saturday firefighters established a perimeter around a portion of the fire, which is reportedly 5 percent contained, according to the Associated Press. Crews say about 5,000 properties remain threatened and the Washington County Sheriff's Office is asking homeowners to voluntarily evacuate.
In eastern Arizona, firefighters expected to keep a wildfire spanning some 72 square miles from moving any closer to a rural town. As of Saturday, the blaze is 51 percent contained.
A stretch of the major U.S. Highway 60 was reopened Saturday, according to Navajo County spokesman Adam Wolfe. The roadway had to be shut down due to part of it being along a containment line of the fire.
Fire crews and helicopters are still working the area and Wolfe says motorists should not stop in any emergency operations areas.
In central New Mexico, crews said that a 28-square mile fire in the Manzano Mountains is 90 percent contained as of Saturday. A county assessor has determined that a dozen homes and 44 minor structures have been damaged. The human-caused fire began June 14.