MONDAY, AUG. 6—Update from Kern County Fire Department’s Public Information Officer Tony Diffenbaugh:

The 56,000 acre Zaca Fire burning in Santa Barbara County has been very visible in Kern County for the past few days and is causing concern for many local residents.  County fire stations from Pine Mountain to Tehachapi have received hundreds of phone calls today from concerned residents asking questions such as how close the fire is and when should they be ready to evacuate.  Several callers have insisted that the smoke from the Zaca Fire is in fact a fire burning in their neighborhood, prompting an emergency response from the fire department.  As of this morning, the Zaca Fire is at least 25 miles from the southwest corner of Kern County and the likelihood of the fire reaching the county is remote.  Should the fire eventually become a threat to Kern County, it would take several days and local residents would receive ample warning of any threat. Eight firefighters from the Kern County Fire Department are assigned to the Zaca Fire assisting in various fire management positions and fire department staff is receiving daily updates of the fire’s status.   In the mean time, the latest fire information available can be found at the web site www.inciweb.org

This is part of the August 03, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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