Firefighters Near Containment of California Wildfire

June 22, 2011

A wildfire that’s burned nearly 8 square miles of Central California wilderness is nearing containment.

Kern County fire spokesman Sean Collins says the blaze that began Sunday is 95 percent contained Tuesday morning and should be entirely surrounded by evening.

Authorities say the 5,196-acre blaze didn’t move much overnight.

About 150 firefighters are at the scene, down from 600 when the blaze began Sunday.

The fire began in an oil field and moved through parts of the San Joaquin Valley into rugged hills and mountains east of San Luis Obispo.

No one has been hurt, but a 19th century Kern County cattle branding camp and another outbuilding were destroyed.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined.

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