A wildfire named the Ridge Fire is burning in portions of Los Angeles County and Kern County, near the Gorman area of Southern California. Firefighting aircraft are attacking the blaze from above, dropping water directly on the flames to douse them and then laying down red fire retardant around the perimeter to draw a line that keeps the fire from progressing further.
At last check, Cal Fire put the size of the blaze at about 100 acres. Those tracking the fire said it already appeared to be larger than that estimate, and that officials would more than likely revise the acreage upward as they get a better feel for how far the flames have spread across the terrain.
The area where the Ridge Fire is burning is described as being prone not only to fires but also to heavy winds and fast-spreading wildfires. There is a great deal of fuel and dry vegetation across the landscape, conditions that can help a blaze like this one grow quickly once it takes hold in the hills.
Much of the surrounding land is sparsely populated, made up of many hills and mountains at a higher elevation than areas further south. Because of that, the risk to large residential communities is considered lower than it would be if the fire were burning in a place such as the Santa Clarita Valley, the San Fernando Valley or Los Angeles proper, though the zone does not have zero residents.
Los Angeles County issued an evacuation warning for people in the path of the fire. Residents who are north of Smoky Bear Road, west of Interstate 5 and east of the Los Angeles County line, including those along Hungry Valley Road, were told to prepare to leave and to consider leaving now if they need more time to evacuate.
The warning was described as officials getting ahead of the situation rather than an order to leave immediately. Authorities cautioned that if the fire continues to spread, there could eventually be mandatory evacuations, particularly if the flames reach an area where they begin to threaten residential structures in the region.
The blaze is burning near Interstate 5, a heavily traveled corridor that runs through the area. Crews were continuing to draw a retardant line around the active flames and planned to keep watch on the Ridge Fire through the night, in a part of California where fires can ignite from something as small as a spark next to the roadside vegetation.