A wildfire in northern Kern County, California, grew to more than 2,500 acres, raising concerns for nearby communities and offering another stark reminder of how destructive wildfire season can be.<\/p>\n
According to KGET<\/a>, the wildfire was near West Garces Highway and Rowlee Road by the Kern-Tulare county line.<\/p>\n KGET reported that the fire was first called in at about 4:25 p.m. on May 14 and had spread to more than 2,500 acres with 0% containment.<\/p>\n Officials said the earlier evacuation order has been lifted, but fire conditions can shift quickly.<\/p>\n Wildfires do not need to reach a neighborhood to put lives and communities at risk. Fast-growing fires can trigger sudden evacuations, shut down roads, damage homes and businesses, and send dangerous smoke into surrounding areas.<\/p>\n Wildfire smoke can worsen asthma and other heart and lung conditions.<\/p>\n Evacuations can interrupt work, school, and access to medical care.<\/p>\n Families can also face property damage, lost income, and expensive recovery efforts, while emergency resources are pushed to the limit.<\/p>\n Across the West, hotter conditions and increasingly dry landscapes are creating an environment where fires can ignite more easily and spread more aggressively. That means a single blaze can become a serious regional threat in a short period of time.<\/p>\n Fire crews responded to the fire and monitored containment as conditions changed. The Rowlee fire was completely contained by the evening of May 15, per Cal Fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n For people living in fire-prone areas, the most important steps are staying tuned to official updates, signing up for emergency alerts, and being prepared to leave quickly if evacuation orders are reinstated.<\/p>\n Over the longer term, communities can reduce wildfire risk by investing in home hardening, creating defensible space, improving forest and land management, and supporting efforts to reduce the heat-trapping pollution that is contributing to worsening fire conditions.<\/p>\n Individuals can also prepare by keeping a go-bag packed, clearing dry brush from around their homes, and making a family evacuation plan before the next emergency hits.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A wildfire in northern Kern County, California, grew to more than 2,500 acres, raising concerns for nearby communities…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,37667,133657,328,133658,15195],"class_list":["post-320291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-evacuation-order","tag-fire-conditions","tag-kget","tag-west-garces-highway","tag-wildfire-risk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}