FRESNO (KMJ) — Crews from Tulare County, Kern County, Kings County, and Fresno Fire, are all on scene ensuring that the Erskine Fire remains under control.
Neighborhoods have been reduced to smoldering remains after the flames raced through the area close to Lake Isabella, which is less than 50 miles from the City of Bakersfield.
As of Friday afternoon more than 19,000 acres of land had been charred, 800 crew members were on scene, and approximately 1,500 structures were threatened.
“In the State of California we have a cooperative agreement that we assist each other so that we can effectively protect the citizens and public”, says Fresno Fire Battalion Chief Kirk Wanless.
“Because no one agency, when an incident is this complex and large can handle it. So we have an agreement to help each other out statewide, and we all benefit from that arrangement”.
That agreement is also brought into play during incidents such as earthquakes and civil unrest.
For crews battling the Erskine Fire – the heat, steep terrain, and wind, are all making fighting the flames difficult for the personnel trying to keep them under control. It officially started just before 4pm Thursday, and the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
Updates on the fire’s progression can be found clicking here.
