A wildfire that destroyed five homes and forced evacuations of 200 people near Lake Isabella is 50 percent contained this morning. About 250 firefighters are on the line. Temperatures are in the mid-90s. Fanned by erratic winds, the Kern County blaze exploded from a few acres to 3,500 acres Saturday. It burned homes, four vehicles, garages, a travel trailer, a mobile home, five sheds, two boats and a barn in the town of Bodfish. Residents of Bodfish and Lake Isabella and a campground in Keysville were evacuated. But the fire eased at sundown and residents were allowed to return home.

Meanwhile, firefighters have contained a wildfire that burned 1,400 acres of rugged forest in Siskiyou County near the Oregon state line. The fire started last Sunday when a backyard debris fire got out of control.