Firefighters Making Headway on Wildfires

California firefighting crews have gotten the upper hand on most of the wildfires burning throughout the state, with 1,450 of them reported as contained by this morning, officials said Sunday.

But the American River Complex fires burning in the Tahoe National Forest near Foresthill sent heavy smoke into the skies throughout the region. Motorists and others reported heavy smoke along Interstate 80 from Dutch Flat down into the Sacramento area.

The fires were sparked by lightning on June 21 and began as 17 fires. The complex now consists of three fires that so far have burned 7,652 acres and destroyed one structure. By noon Sunday, Forest Service officials were saying the fires were 25 percent contained but that full containment was not expected until July 30.

There still are 331 active fires burning and more than 558,000 acres have burned as a result of the blazes that have erupted around the state since June 20, CalFire said. Major concerns remain in the Santa Barbara and Big Sur areas. In Santa Barbara, the Gap fire has burned more than 9,300 acres since Tuesday in an area 3.5 miles north of Goleta. It was 28 percent contained Sunday morning.

In Big Sur, more than 72,000 acres have burned since a fire was ignited by lightning June 21. State Highway 1 remains closed, and that fire is 11 percent contained. Evacuations still are ordered in portions of Monterey, Santa Barbara and Shasta counties.

National Guard troops ordered into service by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are scheduled to complete their firefighting training today at McClellan Air Park, which has become a focal point in organizing the firefighting effort.

Firefighting aircraft at McClellan have flown 160 missions so far, dropping nearly 425,000 gallons of fire retardant on wildfires, CalFire said.

West Coast 911 fire news source - Sac Bee