California: Piute fire

The Piute fire, about 6 miles south of Lake Isabella, was very active again yesterday, growing by 4,840 acres. This fire has a lot of potential to be a problem. It is now 7,040 acres and 6% contained.

South Zone reported this at 1800 yesterday:

The West side of the fire is unsafe for direct attack. The north end of the fire is running towards numerous camping areas and the communities and structures in Lake Isabella, Bodfish, Liebel Ranch, Valley View Sub-division, French Meadow, Historic Rocky Point Mining area, Red Mountain, and Claraville. Road closures were initiated today.

The map below shows heat in red and black detected by satellites last night, with the red areas being the most recently burned. Click on the map to see a larger version.