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Fast-Moving Way Fire Threatens Homes in Kern County

Kern County Fire Department

  The Junction Fire isn’t the only wildfire burning through the San Joaquin Valley today.

On Monday afternoon the so-called Way Fire ignited in a drainage near the Kern County towns of Wofford Heights and Kernville. As of Tuesday morning, the fire had rapidly spread to nearly 3200 acres and was threatening hundreds of homes. In a press statement, Kern County Fire stated that multiple structures have been destroyed. Areas in and around the two towns are being evacuated to a high school in Lake Isabella.

Brian Shaw, owner of McNally Ranch, has opened his Lake Isabella land to evacuees looking to find a safe place for large livestock. He first offered up his 20 acres during the Shirley Fire.

“When animal control called me yesterday and asked, can you activate and become a large animal shelter again, I said, no problem.”

He says his ranch can accommodate another 100-150 large livestock.

Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.