Incident Report


Kevin Ostrinski
Incident Number
Incident tYPE
Incident Narrative
CALIENTE. Calif., At approximately 2:22 p.m. on September 16, 2023, Kern County firefighters were dispatched to a report of a vegetation fire near the railroad tracks, 1 mile south of Highway 58, just east of Bealeville Rd. The first arriving fire equipment found a wildfire approximately 15 acres in size, being driven by wind. Overcoming access challenges and difficult terrain, fire personnel made an aggressive attack on the fire with rolling fire equipment and hand crews. Several KCFD dozers rounded out the ground assault. The KCFD incident commander recognized a need for additional air resources and promptly requested 3 more air tankers to supplement the 2 already enroute. The air attack included KCFD H-408 with a rapid, 5-minute flight time from her base in Keene. Working together, all resources were able to contain the fire at 55 acres. The cause is under investigation.