By Mike Martinez
Inside Bay Area (California)
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PATTERSON, Calif. — With the weather making favorable turn, a wildfire burning out of control for nearly a week is expected to be fully contained by tonight, state officials said.
Weaker winds and higher humidity have turned the Canyon Fire to a slow burn — only
1,000 acres of wild land were burned Thursday night compared to nearly 10,000 Tuesday night when winds were swirling and humidity was low — allowing the 2,000 firefighters to build fire lines to contain the blaze.
“We’re trying to get the lines in to stop the progress,” said Mike Sawyer, a firefighter with the California Department of Forestry. “We’re still experiencing fire activity, especially along the south and southwest lines.”
The fire, burning a few miles west of Patterson, was 45 percent contained by 7 a.m. Friday.
Sawyer said a backfire operation was planned for Friday night and contingency lines were also being built in case the primary lines didn’t hold.
“We’re fighting fire with fire to support the dozer lines,” Sawyer said. “We’re widening the bulldozer lines with fire so when the wildfire hits, it runs into (areas) that already burned.”