Three firefighters have suffered smoke inhalation injuries battling the Erskine Fire , which has consumed around 8,000 acres near Lake Isabella in Kern County. about 40 miles northeast of Bakersfield.

Approximately 100 structures have  already been lost and 1,500 additional structures are threatened. Some houses were already little more than embers on the ground, while others were deep in flames. No injuries were reported, but several thousand people were forced to evacuate from nearly a dozen communities in the area. 

"I've never been in a wildland fire where I've seen so many homes burn," Kern County fire Capt. Tyler Townsend told the Associated Press. "It's one of the most devastating I've ever seen"