Brush fire grows, crosses into L.A. County

A brush fire raging out of control in Los Padres National Forest had grown to at least 3,000 acres and crossed into Los Angeles County on Wednesday evening, officials said.

The Grand fire, which started in Kern County near the Grapevine, forced the evacuations of a state park and a campground, fire officials said.

The blaze crossed into Los Angeles County on Wednesday evening, Lt. Dana Albro of the Kern County Sheriff’s Department told The Times.

About 800 firefighters were battling the blaze, but no structures were being threatened, the Kern County Fire Department said.

Crews on the ground were being aided by seven air tankers and four helicopters that were making repeated water and fire-retardant drops as flames burned through brush and light grass, fire officials said.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect for Hungry Valley State Park and Piru Creek Campground.

Los Angeles County fire officials said the wind was 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph. Relative humidity was 28% and temperatures Wednesday afternoon were in the low 70s.

Earlier Wednesday, the blaze was “wind-dominated� and was burning southeast toward the direction of Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreational Area, fire officials said. The park is the second largest in the state and offers more than 130 miles of trails for motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.

The fire broke out around 1:20 p.m. near Frazier Mountain Park Road and Grand Terrace Drive, not far from Frazier Park, an unincorporated mountain village in Kern County.

Authorities responded to Frazier Mountain High School to evacuate the campus Wednesday afternoon, but students had already left for the day, Albro said.

“We no longer have any evacuation needs in Kern County,� she said Wednesday evening.

Initially the blaze had burned 150 acres, but it grew to 300 acres within an hour.

Los Padres National Forest is south of Bakersfield. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

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