Cost $19.3 million Cause Under investigation | Burned area 47,864 acres (194 km) Buildings
destroyed 309 | |
 | ||
Location Lake Isabella, Kern County, California Date(s) June 23, 2016 (2016-06-23) - July 11, 2016 (2016-07-11) | ||
The Erskine Fire was a wildfire that was burning in the Lake Isabella area of Kern County. It was the second-largest wildfire of the 2016 California wildfire season. It was also the first fire of the year to have fatalities and is the 15th most destructive fire in state history.
Contents
Events
The fire, which was first reported around 4:00pm on Thursday, June 23, quickly grew to over 8,000 acres (32 km2) and destroyed over 100 structures, including at least 80 residences, in the first few hours.
By mid-day Friday the fire had grown to over 19,000 acres (77 km2) and is still 0% -contained. By 6:00pm on Friday, officials confirmed that the fire had grown to over 30,000 acres (120 km2) with 5% contained.
Friday evening Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Kern County.
On June 28, Kern County Fire Department confirmed that 257 homes had been destroyed by the fire.
Two Red Cross Shelters were set up north of Lake Isabella
On July 11 the fire was 100% contained.
Fatalities
On Friday, June 24, officials confirmed that 2 people had been killed by the fast moving fire. Officials also stated that cadaver dogs were being used to search for possible additional victims. The deceased victims were an elderly couple who died while attempting to flee their home.
On Saturday June 25, a third set of remains was found, though the body had been burned so badly that it is unclear on whether or not the remains belong to a human or an animal. Monday morning, the Kern County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the remains belonged to an animal and not to a human.