Driving down the back side of Lake Isabella on Sierra Way, in between the mountains, you see what looks like a town appear, in a fuzzy mirage from the heat.
There's tents, dozens of cars, fire trucks, and RVs sitting down near the water line, and it's the Erskine Fire Command Post.
There is more than a hundred people at any given time at Camp 9, all to provide support for the crews helping to contain the blaze.
The destructive Erskine Fire burned more than 46,000 acres and has more than 1,800 firefighters working Tuesday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The center has mobile offices that each serve a specific function. One is for finances, another is for weather mapping of how the fire is behaving, and the list goes on. So far the fire cost taxpayers about $13 million.
Walking down the rows of RV's, it seems like a mini city, with a big tent and tables and chairs set up as the cafeteria, and port-o-potties and hand washing stations lined up to fulfill the needs of the team.
Here at this camp, there are firefighters returning from 16 hour shifts, with faces blackened by soot, and bodies exhausted from the heat and working the fire.
This center is their respite for a short few hours, to eat, shower, sleep and prep for the next day.
"This is supply up here, we have stuff that's being delivered to the fire lines right now, there's all kinds of different fire apparatus... fuel, replacement parts for chainsaws, you name it, we order it in here," US Forest PIO Service Terry Krasko said.
There are stacks of boxes containing everything from fire hose to soap. Sometimes, if the staff is lucky, there's treats like ice cream.
"I've got Haagen Dazs, cookies and cream, come on up don't be shy and grab yourself one!" A man said pulling a dolly with three ice chests full of sweet treats.
Krasko said the crews could not fight the fire without the support provided at the camp.
Fire crews who don't get to go back to the camp have supplies flown in from the helibase a few miles down the road from Camp 9.
"We flew out about 120 firefighters... it was nonstop all morning," Base Deck Manager Albert Sindlinger said.
While the helibase provides transportation and cargo, Sindlinger says the firefighters are the "workhorse" and they're all just there to support them.
There have been a few difficulties for helicopters. The wind kept a few from flying and Sindlinger says there are two crash recovery planes in case the worst should happen.
Tuesday crews were working to make barriers in the south east part of the fire line, and officials are confident the fire will not spread further, unless the wind picks up.
