Cooler, wetter weather put a damper on brush fires on 275,000 acres in Western states Tuesday, with most blazes reported to be controlled, contained or very close to it.
Two blazes were still burning in California, but nearly all fires in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana were virtually out, officials said.In California, more than 2,100 firefighters were closing in on surrounding 7,800 acres of dying brush fires in rural Sonoma County and the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County.
The Sonoma fire, which broke out Sunday morning about 95 miles north of San Francisco, had blackened 5,900 acres by Tuesday night. A.J. Weddle, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the blaze was 90 percent contained and full containment was expected Wednesday.
The Sonoma County fire was probably caused by arcing power lines, Weddle said.
A brush fire that erupted Sunday afternoon about 7 miles north of Ojai in Ventura County had charred 1,900 acres in the Los Padres National Forest, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kathy Good.