By Gideon Rubin
The Daily News of Los Angeles
Copyright 2007 Tower Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

ROSAMOND, Calif. — Firefighters battled sweltering heat and erratic winds Wednesday as they worked to stop a massive wildfire from spreading into populated areas.

The White Fire has already blackened more than 10,000 acres along the southwest face of the Tehachapi Mountains, said Martin Johnson, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The blaze was 50 percent contained by early Wednesday, he said. Damage was estimated at $2.7 million.

More than 1,400 firefighters and support crews are fighting the blaze, which was reported Sunday morning about four miles northwest of Rosamond by the pilot of an aircraft battling a 700-acre fire in Keene, Johnson said.

Johnson said eight homes and five other structures have been destroyed, but no injuries have been reported.

Firefighters' biggest fear remains the possibility of Santa Ana winds, which could fan flames toward Blackburn Canyon and the city of Tehachapi.

Blackburn Canyon, which has about 130 homes, is six miles northwest of Oak Creek Canyon, and Tehachapi about nine miles farther in the same direction.

Johnson said shifting winds, low humidity and rugged terrain remain concerns, although voluntary evacuations have not yet been called for in those areas.

"We're concerned because we don't know what Mother Nature will throw at us," Johnson said. "Anytime you have a fire near a wind farm, that's a concern."

A DC-10 used to dump fire retardant over the blaze has been grounded since Monday evening, when it lost control amid severe turbulence and grazed treetops while on a flying mission near Tehachapi.

The DC-10 will remain on the ground until an incident investigation and inspection are completed, Johnson said.