Bakersfield, CA fire today: Map, evacuation updates as blaze burns near Cottonwood Road and Hale Street

A fire has broken out near Cottonwood Road and Hale Street in southeast Bakersfield, with smoke visible across the area.

A fire has broken out in southeast Bakersfield, California with smoke visible across the area. According to posts shared on social media, the fire is burning near Cottonwood Road and Hale Street, approximately a quarter mile southeast of the 3600 block of Hale Street in Bakersfield, Kern County.

Smoke rises in southeast Bakersfield as crews respond to a reported fire near Hale Street. (Representative image/ Unsplash)

The Bakersfield Fire Department is reported to be at the scene.

At this time, there are no further official details available about the cause or extent of the fire.

The details above are based on reports shared by users on Facebook and public fire tracking platform Watch Duty.

Rainbow fire freak out in San Diego County

According to Fox5A San Diego, a separate wildfire also started on Wednesday in northern San Diego County, California. The fire is called the Rainbow Fire and it was first reported at 12:08pm on April 8 on private land in the Rainbow area.

Firefighters from Cal Fire and other teams were sent to the 1600 block of Rainbow Valley Boulevard shortly after noon. The fire began when a burn pile went out of control and spread to about half an acre. Smoke from the fire could be seen from nearby Avocado Highway.

Because the fire was close to buildings, officials issued an evacuation order for people in the area. A temporary evacuation point was set up in the parking lot of the Seventh Day Adventist Church at 1200 Old Highway 395.

However, the evacuation order was lifted at 1:06pm, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.

Cal Fire San Diego said firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading further by 12:55pm. The exact cause of the fire is still not known.