Fire Threat Eases as Biggest Blaze Is Nearly Contained

Two weeks of flame and fury in California ended Saturday with near-containment of the state’s largest fire and mopping-up after several others.

Only one real hot spot remained--the Rat Creek and Gorda fires in Monterey County south of Big Sur. These were only 15% contained Saturday afternoon after destroying two homes and more than 30,000 acres of watershed.

Fire officials said the damp, cool air and lack of wind that held these two blazes generally in check after their initial fast start a week ago were also making it difficult for the 1,700 firefighters to set the backfires needed to deprive them permanently of fuel.

“We’ll get it stopped,” said California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Jan Helling, “but for the moment, the steep terrain and other factors are simply holding us and the fire at an equal disadvantage.”

The Wheeler blaze that blackened more than 116,000 acres, destroyed a dozen homes and threatened the towns of Ojai and Carpinteria since its beginning July 1 was reported 98% contained, and U.S. Forest Service spokesman Pete Libby said full containment is expected by this morning.

Other Assignments

More than a third of the force of 3,200 firefighters assigned to the Wheeler blaze at its peak had been released to handle other hot spots by Saturday afternoon. Libby said the only possible danger would come from a change in the weather.

“A steep drop in humidity and a sudden spurt of wind could be really bad news,” he said. “But for the moment that doesn’t seem likely.”

The National Weather Service concurred, predicting a general cooling trend based on a strong onshore flow of moist marine air through the early part of the week.

Elsewhere in the state, fire news was mostly good:

- South of Idyllwild in Riverside County, a fire that seared 200 acres of the San Jacinto Mountains and forced evacuation of 400 Girl Scouts from their camp was fully contained, with control expected overnight.

- Full control was also expected by this morning for the Las Plitas fire that destroyed seven homes and charred an estimated 75,000 acres of San Luis Obispo County. That fire, which forced evacuation of 2,000 people, was fully contained Wednesday.

- The Cherry Valley fire that burned 38,000 acres of brushland in Monterey County was fully contained Saturday after destroying six homes and two barns.

- Six lightning-caused blazes in Fresno County, dubbed the Los Gatos Canyon fires, were 50% contained Saturday morning after blackening 27,155 acres, with full containment expected overnight.

- Santa Clara County’s Lexington Reservoir Fire that destroyed 20 homes, charred 14,000 acres and forced evacuation of 4,500 people at its peak was fully contained Saturday, and fire authorities said it could be totally extinguished sometime today.

- The Finley Ridge Fire that burned 2,100 acres and destroyed one cabin near Lake Anderson in Santa Clara County was reported fully controlled Saturday afternoon.

- And the Oat Fire in Tulare County was also reported fully controlled Saturday after consuming nearly 1,000 acres of heavy grassland east of Porterville.