Humidity Helps, Hinders Crews Fighting Huge California Wildfire

Friday, August 24th 2007, 7:03 am

By: News On 6

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) _ High humidity slowed a massive wildfire burning in the Santa Barbara County wilderness Friday, but also made it harder for firefighters to burn off the dense brush in its path.

The blaze, which nudged its way into Ventura County this week, was 83 percent contained after burning 235,601 acres, or about 368 square miles, of steep backcountry.

The fire was about 15 miles away from the community of Ojai and did not threaten any other large communities, fire spokesman Larry Griffith said.

Despite its size, the fire has only destroyed one structure, an outbuilding.

The blaze increased by about 3,000 acres overnight on its active northern front.

Crews set backfires Thursday to burn up chaparral and form a blackened fireline _ a tactic that was successfully used in the past week to partially box the fire. However, they had to stop the effort when humidity became too high for the brush to burn well.

The humidity on Friday was a moist 47 percent as a coastal marine layer dampened the canyon lands inland.

``It isn't helping with trying to get the fields to burn,'' Griffith said.

Along the fire's northwestern perimeter near the Sisquoc River, crews were cutting firelines by hand and had about seven miles to build, Griffith said.

Sparks from equipment being used to repair a water pipe ignited the blaze north of Los Olivos on July 4.

About 2,500 firefighters, aided by aircraft, were fighting the fire. Costs have reached $99.7 million.