UPDATE (July 16, 2020): The Mineral Fire just north of Kern County continues to grow. It's now covering more than 16,000 acres. According to Cal Fire containment has reached 20-percent.
The fire first broke out on Monday afternoon.
Multiple residents from the Bingham Springs community are being evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
The cause is still under investigation.
The smoke from the fire is affecting air quality throughout the state. The San Jaoquin Valley Air Pollution District has issued an air quality alert until 10 a.m. on Monday due to the smoke for multiple counties in the Central Valley including parts of Kern County.
A wildfire continues to grow in size to the north of Kern in Fresno County. Evacuation orders have been issued by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office as firefighters work to gain containment of the Mineral Fire.
At last check, the fire has burned 11,000 acres since breaking out Monday afternoon and is only 5 percent contained. The fire broke out at about 3:30 p.m. on July 13th on Mineral Spring Road along Highway 198 just west of the city of Coalinga.
According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, the fire is causing significant amounts of smoke to infiltrate the central and southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. Cal Fire posted pictures of the smoke which could be seen from San Luis Obispo County. The air district said currently this smoke is hovering above the valley floor and not yet affecting most communities.
Extreme fire behavior being seen on the #MineralFire within Fresno County. @FresnoCoFire https://t.co/saPmWpKVGj https://t.co/vCfQz0CZps pic.twitter.com/PPUBosnpWA
— CAL FIRE SLO (@CALFIRE_SLO) July 15, 2020
However, the valley air district expects smoke to drop to the valley floor Wednesday evening and impact residents throughout the region.
The health caution issued by the district Tuesday remains in place until the fire is extinguished, which may not happen until late next week.
#MineralFire [update] see below of additional evacuation information. @FresnoCoFire pic.twitter.com/Nzbkh5ittx
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) July 15, 2020
