CA: Piute fire July 6

The fire is 21,478 acres and is 26% contained.

From Kern County FD:

On Saturday, the fire moved actively toward the east and northeast driven by strong southwest winds and further growth is expected in the same area today. The fire perimeter now extends into the BLM Bright Star Wilderness. The fire also continues to move slowly down slope along the western and northern perimeters. Firefighters plan to burnout fuels along the southeastern fire line. Yesterday, the fire increased 2,468 acres.

There was active burning on the eastern side as the head of the fire fingers into sparse desert fuels in the Bright Star Wilderness. The fire has spread into Cortez and Bright Star Canyons. All structures continue to be protected.

Hand crews and dozers are constructing indirect fire lines on the northern and western ridges. Firefighters continue to reinforce fire line along the flanks of the southern perimeter.

Precautionary evacuation notices were delivered to residences in the Kelso Valley area by the Kern County Sheriffs Office and Search and Rescue Team.

The map below shows heat, in red, orange, and black, detected by satellites last night, with the red areas being the most recently burned. The yellow lines are the perimeters uploaded by the incident management teams yesterday. Click on the map to see a larger version.