Several wildfires were burning in the Kern River Valley Monday. At least nine fires broke out in the Wofford Heights area near Lake Isabella at about 9:30 in the morning.
"I was watching the smoke over the top of the hill because there was already a fire on the other side,'' said resident Adrian Verdugo. ''Tirens were going up the hill and as I looked over, I started seeing little fires coming down the hill.
The Sheriff's Department notified nearby homeowners by phone to be aware of the fire, but no evacuations were ordered.
"It's kind of scary,'' said worried resident Debbie Puls. ''So close by. One of the sheriff's (deputies) said as long as the wind doesn't pick up, we should be OK. But who's to say?"
Fire officials said there were probably 8 to 12 starts to the fire, many of them right along Highway 155.
"There could be a number of things that could have started it. Could be bad exhaust, could be someone dragging some kind of metal along the road," said Rick Larson with the U.S. Forest Service.
Investigators are also looking into whether arson could be the cause. "The main fire was on the other side of the hill where all the fire department was going and before we knew it all these little spot fires just started. No heavy wind anything. It was very strange, very odd to me," said Verdugo.
"This largest one is burning in light brush and grass and very rocky terrain. We've got a lot of resources on it," said Larson.
The U.S. Forest Service, Kern County Fire and the Bureau of Land Management were able to get the Wofford Complex Fire fully contained by around 6 p.m. Monday, but they said they didn't think it would be completely under control until Tuesday night at the earliest.
When officials got the advisory Monday morning that homes could be in danger they used the reverse 911 system to notify folks. They say if you aren't registered to receive those calls, you should go onto www.readykern.com, and register.
