‘Shell’ fire burns 1200 acres near Grapevine in Kern County

A fire, dubbed the Shell fire, broke out near Interstate 5 and Grapevine Road Sunday and is burning about 1200 acres and is only 2% contained, according to the Kern County Fire Department.

Cal Fire reported the fire to be about 700 acres at around 7:47 p.m., but it quickly grew almost double in size by 8:13 p.m.

Clouds of black smoke could be seen blanketing the side of the 5 north freeway.

This comes as an excessive heat warning was put in place by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.

The California Independent System Operator will also be monitoring the power grid, saying if there are excessive demands they might be forced to do rolling blackouts, shutting off the air conditioning.

The Kern County Fire Department, Cal Fire, Ventura County Fire Department and the Bureau of Land Management were working together to contain the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.