As hundreds of wildfires burned across the state this weekend, Ridgecrest was not unaffected.
The “Clover” fire, which began 8 miles north of Kennedy Meadows on May 31, spread to the Eastern Sierra Nevada, just south of Olancha, west of Highway 395 off of Sage Flats Drive by Sunday evening. On Friday, the blaze had torched over 2,800 acres. As of Sunday night, the burnt area was almost 4,000 acres, according to the US Forest Service. The fire is 0 percent contained.
Dark smoke clouds hovered over Ridgecrest late Sunday night. Smoke could be seen as far north as Bishop.
Lightning sparked the fire last month, said the Forest Service.