A new wildfire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from a small town in the California desert near the Mexico border.
State fire officials say the blaze broke out late Sunday morning and by early evening, had surged to nearly 1.5 square miles amid triple-digit temperatures.
An evacuation was ordered for the community of Potrero, a town of about 600 people along State Route 94.
The town is just a few miles north of Tecate, Mexico, and about 40 miles southeast of San Diego.
So far the fire has scorched 1,900 acres in the area of Highway 188 and Highway 94, the latter of which is closed as a precaution. The fire has only five percent containment at this point.
The Red Cross has opened two community centers and an elementary school for evacuees.
There were no immediate reports of damage.
The Kern County Fire Department announced on its Facebook page that nearly two dozen firefighters have been sent to the Border Fire from fire stations all across the county.
