Crews battle 66-acre fire at Joshua Tree; campground evacuated

Crews are battling a vegetation fire at Joshua Tree National Park and have evacuated at least one campground as of Sunday afternoon, officials say.

Cameras from ALERTCalifornia turned to where smoke was seemingly starting to billow out of the national park near the Black Rock Campground around 10 a.m.

CAL FIRE in San Bernardino County reported the fire, now dubbed the Black Rock Fire, to be burning about 5 acres of “heavy fuels” just before 11 a.m. Within the next hour, crews evacuated and closed the Black Rock Campground.

In a 12:35 p.m. update, officials said flames engulfed an estimated 66 acres of land. CAL FIRE added that crews have surrounded the blaze with fire retardant.

By 2 p.m., the forward rate of spread was stopped, and firefighters had 25% containment.

This is a developing story.

Luis Zuniga contributed to this report.

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