Lightning sparks fire east of Santa Margarita, thousands of acres burned

Fire has prompted evacuation orders for portion of Kern County

– A wildfire that broke out outside Santa Margarita and quickly spread toward Kern County on Saturday has scorched over 12,000 acres, according to the latest report from Cal Fire.

The fire was first reported Saturday morning in the area of Hurricane Road. According to the BLM, lightning sparked the Hurricane Fire that burned thousands of acres in the Carrizo Plain National Monument over the weekend.

The fire started on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and quickly grew, prompting evacuation orders Saturday night for an area of Kern County north of Mocal Road, south of Addie Avenue, east of Hurricane Road, and west of Highway 33.

A 4:30 p.m. update on Sunday from Cal Fire SLO reported that the Hurricane Fire is 12,678 acres in San Luis Obispo County. According to a 9:55 p.m. update from Cal Fire on Sunday, the fire was 20 percent contained.

Cal Fire is assisting the BLM with the firefight.