‘Favorable weather’ helps crews tame SCU Lightning Complex to 35 percent containment

Containment grew by 10 percent to 35 percent Wednesday on the SCU Lightning Complex fires burning in two Bay Area counties and four others, Cal Fire officials said Thursday.

Capt. Joe Amador, spokesman for Cal Fire on the fires, said:

“Favorable weather conditions allowed us to make great progress.”

Humidity was a little higher and the winds died down Wednesday, he said. Firefighters made good progress on the lower slopes, according to the agency’s update Thursday morning.

The fire started early Aug. 16, has injured five people and destroyed 37 structures. It’s the second-largest fire in state history at 368,671 acres.

More than 20,000 structures are still threatened. Cal Fire officials do not have an estimate yet for when the fire will be fully contained.

One of three zones of the fire is contained. The Deer Zone in Contra Costa County is contained. But the fire is still burning in Alameda, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced and San Benito counties.

Amador said it will be drier Thursday, slightly warmer with some prevailing winds, which are three concerns firefighters have for the day. But crews have contingency plans for those concerns, Amador said.

Crews hope to increase containment on Thursday and strengthen containment lines, he said.