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About 500 firefighters had arrived in Kern County on Tuesday night to battle a brush fire that had burned about 1,300 acres near Lebec and Frazier Park.
Fire crews were working to cut lines around the fire's perimeter and douse hot spots as cooler nighttime temperatures helped slow the flames' spread, fire officials said. The temperature was about 105 when the blaze broke out around 12:30 p.m.
A second Kern County brush fire that had started Tuesday afternoon near the Wind Wolves Preserve, a nature area by Highway 166, was contained after burning 200 acres, fire officials said.
Earlier in the evening, evacuation orders were lifted and residents were allowed to return to their homes in the Chimney Canyon and Lebec Road areas. About 150 homes were evacuated.
Fire officials credited a strong air attack, which included a DC-10 jet dropping orange retardant and helicopters dropping water, helping ground crews beat back flames that briefly threatened about 60 homes near Frazier Park.
Click on the following link to see a Times brush fire photo gallery.
-- Robert J. Lopez
Photo: The fire smolders into the night near Lebec. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
