Bakersfield Daily Brief: Thursday, September 24, 2026

Good morning, Kern County — it’s Thursday, September 24, and the big story is yesterday afternoon’s semi-truck fire at the Shafter Pilot Travel Center, which sent a thick black smoke plume visible for miles before crews contained it. Overnight, dispatchers also handled a serious report of a woman forced into a vehicle at gunpoint, and that investigation is active this morning. Conditions today stay warm and quiet — a high near 99, air quality at a moderate 71, and no active weather alerts.

The Kern Overnight

Calls kept emergency crews moving from last evening into the early hours, with most of the night’s traffic staying inside the city and the busiest stretch running from 10 to 11:30 p.m. At 10:43 p.m., crews were sent to a downed power pole with transformers and active power lines just north of East California Avenue and Washington Street. The caller asked that the area be blocked off so nobody would walk into the wires, and the utility — which already had a work order open on that line — was asked to respond.

The night’s fire calls began just after 11 p.m., when a full structure assignment went out for a vehicle burning next to a house in the 200 block of South King Street. Crews were told the fire was spreading to the house and then to the roof, and a caller told fire dispatchers that someone had lit the house on fire and might still have been at the scene. After a separate report that an ex-husband had tried to get into the home, dispatchers set alarms at that address to priority one for the rest of the night. A structure assignment followed at 11:48 p.m. for the 700 block of Height Street, and two more structure fire assignments came in between midnight and 2:30 a.m.

Just after 1 a.m., the sheriff’s office reported a brush fire at Magnolia Avenue and 7th Standard Road, and an engine, a patrol unit and a battalion were sent. The first unit on scene found about a quarter acre burning at a slow rate of spread, moving east and south along the road, and a second engine and another patrol unit were added to the call.

The most serious call came at 3:30 a.m., when a caller told city dispatchers that a woman had been forced into a vehicle at gunpoint and made to drive. The suspect was described as under the influence of methamphetamine, wearing a gray sweater and jogger pants, and the blue sedan was last seen heading eastbound on California Avenue. A second caller, on a different phone number, reported a woman yelling for help near South Oleander, and dispatchers could hear a female voice saying a man was attacking her. Around the same time, a domestic violence call over a divorce situation came in from the 400 block of Cypress Street. Officers were given the suspect and vehicle descriptions and searched the area, while city officers also handled a foot pursuit that ended in custody near South H Street and a welfare check on Columbus Street.

Today's weather

Expect another hot one. The National Weather Service calls for a high near 99 degrees with a low around 69 tonight, and it’s currently 68 at Meadows Field (KBFL) — a comfortable start before the afternoon heat builds. No active weather alerts are in effect for Kern County. Air quality sits at 71, which is moderate, so sensitive groups may want to take it a little easier outdoors in the heat of the day. There are no active wildfire reports for the county this morning.

Top stories

A semi-truck parked at a fuel pump caught fire around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday at the Pilot Travel Center in Shafter, 23ABC reports, and the flames quickly spread to two additional semis before crews contained them. Business owners near the truck stop said they heard a loud explosion as the fire broke out; Kern County Fire Department Public Information Officer Jeremy Ruiz said the single vehicle spread to two semis with various loads, and the tractors and trailers became fully involved. Fuel and other products fed a thick black plume that rose above Shafter and was visible for miles, but crews kept the blaze from reaching other parts of the truck stop despite being surrounded by fuel — no one was hurt, crews stayed for cleanup into the evening, and investigators have not yet determined a cause.

President Trump’s disapproval rating has reached its highest point of his second term amid economic concerns, according to a new Emerson College poll reported by KGET 17. The survey found disapproval climbing as economic worries weigh on voters.

A pilot rescued after a jet crashed into the ocean near Morro Bay has been flown to Fresno for medical care, according to Bakersfield Now. The crash happened off the Central Coast, and the pilot was taken to Fresno after being rescued; no word yet on the pilot’s condition.

Stanford University has admitted that artificial intelligence was used to swap the gender and race of a student in an image, KGET 17 reports. The admission confirms that a student’s picture was altered with AI to change how the student appeared.

Children in Kern County face growing risks from online predators who use video games and social media platforms to target minors, according to a 23ABC report. Kern County Deputy District Attorney David Eller told the station that predators often exploit gaming platforms and associated apps like Discord to reach children without their parents’ knowledge — “do you really know who your child is talking to?” — and he pointed to last week’s arrests of two suspects, one from Fresno accused of arranging to meet a minor decoy deployed by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and another from Duarte accused of using a social networking platform to try to meet a minor in person. Eller said the cases highlight aggressive joint efforts by the Bakersfield Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office to track down people accused of preying on children online, and local counselor Yadira Vargas of the Kern County Network for Children added that predators often pretend to be other children — making regular parent-child conversations a key prevention tactic.

A federal judge has ordered the White House to immediately restore access to CNN, MSNBC, and Politico, KGET 17 reported. The ruling directs the administration to reinstate the news organizations’ credentials without delay.

Bakersfield Search and Rescue is asking for meal donations as volunteers patrol Kern County Fair parking lots, Bakersfield Now reports. Team members are spending long shifts watching over fairgoers’ vehicles, and meal donations help keep them going through the day.

Something good

One of the sweetest traditions in Kern County is back in its familiar spot: the beloved cinnamon roll vendor has returned for the 50th Kern County Fair. For fairgoers who have visited year after year, that stand is more than a place to buy a pastry — it’s part of what makes the fair feel like home. And the volunteers from Bakersfield Search and Rescue patrolling the fair’s parking lots are a quiet reminder that neighbors look out for one another.

Coming up this week

Two public meetings are on the calendar in the next several days. The Laws and Legislation Committee convenes Friday, September 25, at noon, and the Planning Commission holds its next regular session Thursday, October 1, at 5:30 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public.

At the Fox Theater, the weekend brings MIKE SHERM on Saturday, September 26, kicking off a busy stretch of fall shows. Looking ahead, the lineup includes Cults & Classics: Young Frankenstein on October 5, NB Ridaz: Ride Till the Wheels Fall Off Tour on October 9, Fantasias on October 10, and United We Dance: Festival Energy on October 16. The theater has also announced its Cults & Classics Season Pass for the 2026–2027 season.

And the 50th Kern County Fair continues, with search-and-rescue volunteers out in the parking lots and that familiar cinnamon roll stand back for another year. If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to make a lap around the fairgrounds, this is the week.