This story was updated on Friday, July 4 at 3 p.m.
A wildfire in a wilderness area west of Kern County exploded in size as dry, hot weather raised the fire risk for large portions of the state as the July Fourth holiday arrived.
The Madre Fire became California’s largest blaze so far this year, ripping through grasslands after breaking out Wednesday in southeastern San Luis Obispo County. By Friday afternoon, it had reached 70,800 acres (See the latest update on Madre Fire from Cal Fire here). It was just 10% contained…