Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

Local residents heard the all too familiar sounds of summer last week as emergency vehicles raced past with sirens blaring as they rushed to a spate of fires sparked in the valley last week.

Thanks to ongoing drought conditions, rising temperatures and an ever ready source of fire fuels, fire personnel from Kern County Fire Department (KCFD), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) likely have their work cut out for them again this summer season.

Forest Service firefighters from Sequoia National Forest station 45 perform clean-up duties at the Frank fire in Canebrake May 26.

The largest of the local fires was the Frank Fire which occurred just past Canebrake off of Frank Street on Tuesday, May 26. Debbie Santiago, Information Officer with BLM stated, “The 65-acre fire broke out around 4:00 p.m. and claimed approximately15 acres of private property and about 50 of BLM land.”

Thanks to the swift mutual aid response from the three agencies, the typical wind driven fire was brought under control quickly. Temo Baltazar, (BLM) acting as Coordinator for the Unified Command added, “We were able to get on this one quickly and fortunately the wind was in our favor.” Approximately 100 firefighters were involved in fighting the fire with additional air support from two tankers and one helicopter.

After the situation was under control, Santiago said, “This fire serves as a timely reminder to local residents about the importance of having a defensible space around their property. If they do their part, it makes it much easier for us to do ours.”

Citizens are encouraged to remember the quickly approaching June 9 Defensible Space deadline. Homeowners who do not have a defensible space zone in place by that date, may be cited and face fines.

For additional information about making your home and property fire safe, visit the following websites www.kerncountyfire.org, www.blm.gov/ca, www.fs.fed.us or refer to the Kern Fire Safe Council “Living with Fire” guide that was included as an insert in the May 20 issue of the Sun.