SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Residents of communities that had been threatened by a gigantic wildfire burning central coast forest for much of the summer were able Friday to return to homes they were forced to evacuate.
Firefighters, aided by rising humidity and cooler weather, made progress Thursday in battling the second-largest wildfire in modern California history.
They lifted evacuation warnings for several communities northwest of Los Angeles.
The blaze, dubbed the Zaca Fire, has burned 232,449 acres or about 363 square miles — but continued to burn in wilderness rather than toward communities.
Containment was put at 83 percent early Friday.
Backfires were set along Highway 33 in Los Padres National Forest to destroy dense chaparral that has fueled the fire for nearly two months as it has snaked southeast through mountain ranges with peaks topping 5,000 feet.
On the north, where the fire was most active, crews worked to cut eight miles of fireline.
However, there still was a potential of the fire making a sudden surge, as it did repeatedly in recent weeks.
The blaze was about 17 miles north of the Ventura County community of Ojai and 10 miles east of Montecito and Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County.
Despite its size, the fire has only destroyed one structure, an outbuilding.
Sparks from equipment being used to repair a water pipe ignited the blaze north of Los Olivos on July 4.
Nearly 2,600 firefighters, aided by aircraft, were fighting the fire. Costs have topped $99 million.
In the steep San Jacinto Mountains that rise to the west of Palm Springs, a fire that may have been sparked by lightning had spread over 83 acres of pines and was 45 percent contained Thursday, said Valerie Baca, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest.
The largest fire in modern California history was the 2003 Cedar Fire near San Diego, which burned more than 273,000 acres, destroyed 4,847 structures and killed 15 people.