Kern County Fire says a five-year-old Maricopa girl is recovering in Fresno after suffering third-degree burns on the lower-half of her body.

Fire spokesman Brett Grassi says the victim was playing with her nine-year-old sister Friday night at a home on Mary Street.

“The nine-year-old sister was playing with matches on the side of the year, and the five-year-old girl received the burns,” he said. “She also had a gas can with her alongside the yard.”

Grassi says it’s not known if the girl was splashed with gas before the fire.

She was medevaced from Maricopa High School to San Joaquin Hospital that night, then was later transported to Fresno.

Sheriff’s detectives said 60 percent of the girl’s body was burned.

– Anthony Pollreisz