Cathy Perfect-Kern Valley Sun

In a week filled with weather that had meteorologists checking their barometers hourly, valley residents endured sweltering heat and monsoonal conditions that wreaked havoc in the area.

Local firefighters and strike crews from surrounding counties were able to contain several lightning caused fires in the past week, but ever-present thunderstorm activity over the Sequoia National Forest brought more lightning and with it reports of new fires.

An air tanker drops a load of retardant on the Onyx fire Wednesday evening. These aircraft are an integral part of fire fighting, as they slow the spread of the fire while strike crews access difficult terrain.Most of the recent fires have been caused by lightning strikes.

Fire crews were kept busy responding to reports of new fires in the Shirley Peak area of the Greenhorn Mountains all the way down to the lower Kern Canyon.

A small grass fire ignited in the Keyesville area Thursday night, but was quickly extinguished by firefighters at 7:45 p.m.

Earlier in the day, at about 12:30 p.m., with the temperature well above the century mark, firefighters responded to a report of a grass fire about two miles up Evans Road in Wofford Heights. The Evans Fire, caused when a vehicle ignited grass along Hwy. 155, spread quickly and threatened several homes. Evans Road was soon congested with vehicles as residents of the steep and thickly-wooded canyons feared loved ones would be engulfed by fast-moving flames.

People were turned back by law enforcement officers handling traffic control, and all but emergency crews and equipment were kept from traveling up Evans Road. As utility poles ignited and the sky blackened, people scrambled for their cell phones.

“Grab all the important papers and get outside,” an unidentified woman, her voice trembling with panic, said to her husband. “Do you know how to turn on the outside sprinklers?” asked another.

There was talk of evacuations, but the fire was kept at bay and there were no evacuations.

Firefighters from Kern County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service, aided by water-dropping helicopters and air tankers were able to quickly contain the fire to about 20 acres. The Forest Service reported that no structures were damaged or destroyed.

“We were very lucky in Wofford Heights,” said Margie Clack, public affairs officer on the Kern River Ranger District. “It was good that we had the tankers on standby (for Wednesday's Onyx Fire.) They got on the radio right away. They were calling in units from Bakersfield for structure protection, so we knew this was a serious one.”

Then with a few hours, the temperature plummeted to the low 70s and the valley was deluged with quarter-size rain drops that came down like the proverbial “cats and dogs.”

Streets flooded, power lines were down, and some areas were without electricty.

Firefighters responded to reports of new fires in the Shirley Peak area of the Greenhorn Mountains all the way down to the lower Kern Canyon.

At times, it was a “you can't tell the players without a scorecard” scenario as lightning strikes ignited fires throughout the county and the state.

The Forest Service reported that numerous small lightning fires were ignited due to the heavy thunderstorm activity over the Piute Mountains, Scodie Mountains, and the Kern Plateau. The largest of the fires was located near Gibonney Creek north of Onyx. Firefighters from Kern County Fire Department, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management worked in rugged terrain and, at press time, the fire had consumed more than 100 acres. The Clear Fire, located near Eagle Peak in the Piute Mountains east of the Caliente-Bodfish Rd., was contained to about five acres as water dropping helicopters and air tankers dropping retardant targeted hot spots in the steep, remote location. The Rock Fire, south of Heald's Peak near Kelso Valley Road, was contained at one acre and the Scodie fire in Scodie Canyon was contained at two acres.

Heavy to moderate rainfall fell over parts of the Kern River Valley and high elevation areas of the forest which helped cool down temperatures.

Forecasters are predicting a continued chance of thunderstorm activity over the southern mountainous portions of the Sequoia National Forest. The National Weather Service has issued, almost daily, flash flood warnings in the area as well.