Lighter winds slow California brush fire

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TEHACHAPI, Calif., May 12 (UPI) -- Weather forecasters said breezes Saturday would be light in central California's windmill country where a fast-moving brushfire escaped containment.

The fire in the Tehachapi area of Kern County gobbled up more than 50 acres Friday and was last reported moving briskly through a remote area where wind farms make use of the frequent winds.

"It is a pretty remote area with a lot of windmills," Kern County Fire Capt. Bill Brickley told the Los Angeles Times. "It gets quite breezy up there, so that's probably why it has grown so large."

Brickley said the blaze started out small on Friday but quickly spread by a combination of wind and the long response time. Brickley said most brush fires in the area tend to burn themselves out when they reach the outskirts of the desert.

There was no reported threat to any of the massive windmills in the area, and service roads leading to the turbines were being used by fire crews to reach the blaze.