By Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig
Inside Bay Area (California)
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Despite hopes earlier Sunday that the Del Puerto Canyon fire would be fully contained by day’s end, hot dry conditions in the Bay Area hampered the efforts west of Patterson.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported the fire was about 85 percent contained by 7 p.m. Sunday, and officials expected full containment by 5 p.m. today.
Officials previously thought it would be fully contained by Sunday evening, but crews had trouble battling the blaze with temperatures at 105 degrees and relative humidity at just
15 percent, said Henry De Kruyff, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Nine firefighters have suffered minor injuries, mostly from heat exposure.
The fire, which spokeswoman Pam Rhoten said is the largest the Santa Clara County Unit has ever seen, has been burning for a week in steep rugged terrain that includes the non-urban areas of Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Alameda and west of Interstate 5, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
The fire, located in the canyon, west of Patterson, has burned more than 32,000 acres, damaged or destroyed 11 residences and six outbuildings.
Officials are asking for the public’s help in identifying how the fire started. They say they have no idea what may have caused it and at this point, it is still under investigation. To report or obtain more information, contact the CDF Fire Investigation Hotline at (800) 468-4408.