Lake Isabella Fire - 6/24/2016

I know this is too North for most of you, however, one of my all time favorite riding areas has a Forest Fire in the vicinity of Kernville VERY near Keyesville.

The Erskine Fire is burning in the Lake Isabella area of Kern County. The fire is currently estimated at 30,000 acres and is 5% contained. There are approximately 800 fire fighters on scene, with several hundred more in route to the fire.

Our buddy @jfsh is a full time resident up there. Hopefully he will keep us posted.
Praying for you guys Jeff!
Mikie

 

I saw that on the news and looks really bad. I remember seeing your ride reports from up there @Mikie, beautiful area and such a shame its burning. Best wishes and safety for the fire fighters, the residents displaced and who have lost their homes, the wildlife (and @jfsh)

 

Yeah this one is about as bad as it gets! 100 homes burned and 2 people killed! I've been watching the smoke from here in Lancaster since yesterday. The smoke fills the northern horizon and the wind looks to be blowing it southeast towards Victorville. I've ridden several times with another guy who lives there, Gene Hacker so I hope he's ok along with jfsh and the other mtb'rs up there! Looks like Mill Creek and Remington Ridge trails might be threatened but that's nothing compared to the lost homes and lives. Praying for all the people involved!

 

My brother who works for the Forest Service and lives down the street from where it started. It seems to have went over the mountain (Cooks Peak) and over to Mt.Mesa, Squirrel Valley where I lived for 2 years. My parents old house also survived the fire. It seems to travel east towards Kelso Valley were it will eventually meet HWY 14. There are a ton of homes out in this remote area. This really doesn't affect any of the riding areas that we frequent. This is on the south side of the lake.

 

What a shame. The mountains on the south side of the lake are quite rugged in many places until Onyx.

 

I used to ride the road to the top of Cooks Peak where the TV towers were and you could look straight down into Isabella. This is were the fire went over the mountain.

 

Was up there earlier this year and the trees were dieing off at a rapid rate. This won't help y the situation. Fire sucks.

 

From Kern River Valley's Facebook page.

 

That's surreal. Like an alien lava planet...

 

We are all good here in Kernville. Many others are not. The fire is on the other side of the lake. I know several people who have lost their homes. Geno is fine as well although I think he lost one of his rental properties.

On a less important note the fire is only really affecting moto trails.

 

Thanks for the local reportage, jfsh. Hoping for the best for you and yours.

 

That is amazing and horrifying. So sad to hear about those who lost lives, loved ones and property. Crap...