By William M. Welch
USA TODAY
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All Rights Reserved
Firefighting crews say they hope a break in winds will save mountain towns from a stubborn blaze that has covered nearly 250 square miles of national forest in three weeks.
"We're feeling very confident that this section of the fire isn't going to move any further," said Michael Johnson, a U.S. Forest Service fire specialist monitoring the wildfire near Frazier Park, Calif., about 75 miles north of Los Angeles.
"Two days in a row the fire has not made any meaningful advances," he said.
On Thursday, crews used bulldozers to complete containment lines around the most active northern part of the fire, and "hotshot" crews of elite firefighters went in on foot to put down blazes.
The fire remains unpredictable, however. Several mountain towns and developments within the Los Padres National Forest have been evacuated. A shelter at Frazier Park was relocated.
The wildfire began Sept. 3 and is 43% contained, the Forest Service said Thursday. It has covered 159,281 acres, about 249 square miles.
The Forest Service won't project a date for full containment. So far, there has been no resumption of the hot Santa Ana winds that whipped the fire last weekend. Dry conditions were forecast for the weekend, making it likely that grasses and shrubs will be more fire-prone.
Winds were expected to continue in the direction of the communities, and extremely low humidity -- below 10% -- meant the potential remains for another outbreak like one earlier this week in which flames jumped a road and containment lines, Johnson said.
The service says 4,422 people are battling the fire, working in 16-hour shifts, aided by 276 fire engines and more than 40 helicopters and tanker planes. The cost of the effort has topped $53 million.
Federal officials say they believe the blaze was begun by a person deliberately burning a fire in the forest. Kathy Wood, spokeswoman for the Forest Service, said investigators "are interviewing potential witnesses and potential suspects."
