Jul 21, 2008 1:03 pm US/Pacific
Cool Temps Help With Remaining Calif. Wildfires
JUNCTION CITY (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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A firefighter battles one of dozens of wildfires still burning across California.
CBS
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity around California allowed firefighters to continue chipping away at dozens of wildfires on Monday.
"The weather pattern, if it holds the way it is now, we should be able to get a foothold around these fires," said Pete Munoa, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
But the low-pressure system that moved in off the coast was not expected though to bring any significant precipitation to have an effect on several huge blazes that have burned for nearly a month, said Munoa.
Only 33 fires remained active around the state Monday, down from 2,010 that havd charred nearly 1,480 square miles since a massive lightning storm ignited hundreds of blazes across Northern California last month.
State officials have called the cluster of fires since June 21 the largest fire event in California history. Fires consumed roughly 1,563 square miles in all of 2007.
Shasta & Trinity Counties
The favorable weekend weather led to considerable progress in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, where a wildfire that was threatening Junction City reached 56 percent containment.
Mandatory evacuation orders, however, remained for parts of the rural town for a fourth day. The month-old fire had charred about 89 square miles.
"They're gaining ground on it, and with the weather cooperating, they're able to do burnout operations within the fire to remove hazardous fuels," said Tom McCampbell, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
Monterey County
Near the coast, a deep marine layer and backfires helped crews in their battle against a wildfire that previously had threatened thousands of homes in the Los Padres National Forest around Big Sur.
The Basin Complex Fire in Monterey County was 70 percent contained Monday after burning about 209 square miles, or about 133,710 acres, and 27 homes.
Firefighters continued to widen containment lines by intentionally burning land to help protect communities threatened by the blaze, saying the new strategy for containing it had been a step in the right direction. Significant smoke was reportedly visible in the area.
The fire still threatenined 1,627 structures. It had cost more than $61 million to fight and was not expected to be fully contained until July 30, fire officials said.
Humboldt County
A handful of residents near Dry Lake in Humboldt County were still under orders to stay away from their homes as another remote blaze spread to more than 18 square miles.
That fire was 60 percent contained Monday.
Other Fires
A handful of residents also were still affected by evacuation orders in Lake and Mendocino counties.
Authorities said most of California's remaining fires were on remote federal forest lands and pose little threat to homes.
Cal Fire updates on all the major blazes burning throughout the state are available online at: http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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