Kern County Fire Launches Medic Squad 42 in East Bakersfield

The Kern County Fire Department placed Medic Squad 42 into permanent service in east Bakersfield this week, giving the area 24-hour Advanced Life Support coverage for a zone that logs more than 5,000 emergency calls each year.

The change matters now because the department ended a temporary vehicle setup and put a dedicated apparatus in place to meet ongoing demand in the east side neighborhoods. The move aligns with two large vegetation fires that crews from Cal Fire and Kern County Fire brought under control in recent weeks.

Fire acreage totals reach 100 percent containment

The Tower Fire near Edison Highway and Comanche Drive burned 2,469 acres before crews declared it fully contained, according to the incident record. All prior evacuation orders for that blaze have already been lifted. Separately, the Lost Fire near Lost Hills reached 7,834 acres and hit 100 percent containment on June 21, 2026. Both incidents show the scale of vegetation fire activity the agencies tracked in the region.

These containment figures come as responders continue to handle other incidents, including a fatal pedestrian crash Friday evening in the 5600 block of Auburn Street where the driver stayed on scene and cooperated with investigators.

Storm reporting numbers stay available for residents

Bakersfield residents can call 326-3111 to report blocked drains or use the city mobile app for downed trees and street light outages. The same channels apply to other storm-related issues that require city crews. The numbers remain posted for direct use when problems appear after weather events.

With Medic Squad 42 now fixed in east Bakersfield and the listed fires at full containment, dispatch and field operations return to routine patterns. Residents should keep the listed phone line and app ready for any new storm reports that surface in the coming days.