UPDATE (4:00 PM): A new evacuation warning has been issued for the areas west of the French Fire, including Glennville, Linns Valley, Posso Flat, and Pine Mountain. An evacuation warning means there is a potential threat to life and/or property and residents should be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.
Fire crews are working around the clock to try to put out the French Fire burning here in kern county. According to the U.S. Forest Service, more than 22,000 acres have burned so far and it remains only 19 percent contained.
The French Fire, started on Wednesday, August 18, west of Lake Isabella. Officials told 23ABC they're aiming to get near full containment by September 7th.
During a community briefing, Wednesday night officials also revealing how they believe the fire sparked.
"We had an excellent team that has been working for the last eight days and investigating the cause of the fire. The groundwork is complete, the evidence they collected is being processed and analyzed. The fire has been determined to be human-caused and it's suspicious in nature."
According to a release from the Forest Service on Thursday morning: "On Wednesday, August 25, crews were able to continue the hard work from the night prior in the Alta Sierra, Pala Ranches, and Wofford Heights’ communities, directly engaging the fire and were successful at corralling the fire to the west of the Cane Peak Ct area. Fire crews are making good progress in securing the fire from Highway 155 (Evans Road) to the 2014 Shirley Fire footprint. Crews, engines, and helicopters remain focused on structure protection and continue working day and night. The work in the Dutch Meadow and Hungry Gulch areas continues to hold along the southeastern edge of the fire. "
All previous evacuation orders remain in place. Kernville is under an evacuation warning.
The Kernville Union School District has canceled school through Friday due to the fire. Kern Valley High School classes have not been canceled.
