The State : Firefighters Race Weather

Firefighters hurried against the changing weather to contain a stubborn arson fire that has blackened more than 3,000 acres on one of the most scenic stretches of the California coast. Light wind and moderate daytime humidity helped crews gain 70% containment of the blaze near Big Sur, but higher temperatures and drier breezes were expected. “It’s warming and drying but not drastically,” state Department of Forestry spokesman Bill Jones said. “The wind has been good. One of the things they’ve wanted to do is get the line around this thing before it gets hot and dry.” More than 1,500 firefighters had built 13 miles of containment line around the 5-day-old blaze near Molera State Park. They still had four more miles to build in steep brush and timber-covered terrain to encircle the fire, Jones said.