Outlook Positive on California Fireline
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Firefighters battle a brush fire near Lebec in Kern County.
A fleet of aircraft and hundreds of firefighters worked Wednesday to contain a 1,300-acre forest fire in rugged Southern California mountains about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, the fire was 30 percent contained, said Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Michelle Puckett.
The fire broke out Tuesday near the town of Lebec.
Puckett says the fire is not burning aggressively, no structures are threatened and the outlook is positive. About 200 homes were evacuated Tuesday but those orders were lifted later in the day.
So far, no homes have been damaged and no injuries have been reported, the Mountain Enterprise newspaper reported.
A half-dozen air tankers, eight helicopters and 650 firefighters are working the blaze.
County fire Cmdr. Mark Geary said low temperatures and higher humidity allowed crews to close in on the fire overnight.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, although KERO-TV reported that the blaze originated from behind the U.S. Post Office on Lebec Road (map).
Firefighters from Los Angeles County, Lake Isabella, Mojave and Shafter were helping in the fight, KGET-TV reported.
Lebec is just off the 5 Freeway, about 40 miles north of Santa Clarita.
Community videographer Drew Beccue of StarCycle posted this video on YouTube:
