Wind turbine fire sparks grass blaze in Mojave
Oct 2019Published 17 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Wind turbine west side of Highway 14 in Mojave
- What
- Turbine caught fire and flames started grass fire
- Response
- Crews put turbine fire out and contained vegetation fire
- Cause
- Not reported
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What happened
On 30 October 2019, Kern County Fire said a wind turbine on the west side of Highway 14 in Mojave caught fire around 2 p.m. and that flames falling from the turbine started a grass fire. Crews worked to put the turbine fire out. Officials said the vegetation fire was contained. The report was described as developing. The cause, the extent of damage to the turbine, any injuries and any effect on nearby turbines were not reported.
Lessons learned
- A wind turbine fire can drop burning material and start a grass fire, so operators must plan ground response with an exclusion zone from the start.
- Early reports on a turbine fire may confirm only that crews contained the blaze, so insurers should expect later updates on damage and outages.
Not yet known
- Cause of the turbine fire
- Extent of damage to the turbine
- Any injuries
- Effect on nearby turbines
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-17. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
