Range fire in Kern County 45% contained; evacuation orders will be lifted at noon

A 600-acre fire that broke out Friday afternoon in Kern County is now 45% contained, officials said.

No structures have been destroyed and evacuation orders will be lifted Saturday at noon, according to the Kern County Fire Department.

About 500 firefighters are battling the fire, dubbed the Range fire, which was burning in the Bear Valley Springs area. Crew worked through the night to establish and reinforce containment lines, officials said.

Further north in Monterey County, the Soberanes fire, which has been burning for more than a month and has consumed 91,500 acres in Los Padres National Forest, is now 60% contained.

A thick marine layer on Friday kept fire activity low along the coastal area. Similar fire behavior is expected Saturday, officials said, and no threats to fire containment lines are anticipated.

The blaze, sparked by an abandoned, illegal campfire on July 22 in Garrapta State Park, has so far killed one person and destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings. About 410 structures are still under threat, and more than 1,500 firefighters continue to battle the fire in the steep, rugged terrain.

Bulldozer operator Robert Reagan III was fatally injured while fighting the fire in a remote area on state parkland in Carmel, authorities said.

Updating some of the other fires burning around California, with containment figures as of Saturday morning:

• Chimney fire: 45,008 acres burned and 70 structures destroyed in San Luis Obispo County; began Aug. 13; 51% contained.
• Rey fire: 33,006 acres burned north of Santa Barbara in Los Padres National Forest; Aug. 18; 46% contained.
• Cedar fire: 28,840 acres burned in Kern County; began Aug. 16; 20% contained.

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