1,900-Acre Forest Fire Nearing Containment : Los Padres: A camper suspected of starting the blaze is questioned. Cooler weather helps firefighters get the upper hand.

Firefighters were containing a 1,900-acre fire in Los Padres National Forest near Ojai on Tuesday as federal investigators questioned a camper suspected of starting the blaze by dumping hot coals into tinder-dry brush.

The U. S. Forest Service said the fire was about 95% contained about 6 p.m. Tuesday. Spokesman Earl Clayton predicted that it would be fully contained by mid-morning today.

The unidentified camper could face civil penalties if he is found guilty of negligence, or could be fined under federal law if he is found to have deliberately started the fire, said Larry Mercer, a Forest Service spokesman.

Authorities said the man could be billed for part of the estimated $800,000 cost of controlling the fire, which kept 1,300 firefighters and emergency workers busy since Sunday.

“All this funnels down to one little spot up there where the charcoal was,” Mercer said, his arm sweeping to indicate a scorched spot near Lions Canyon Campground that fanned out into miles of blackened brush and scorched rock. “When the investigators got here, they went right for it.”

Investigators from the Forest Service and the U. S. Bureau of Land Management declined to identify the camper, who was questioned along with other witnesses Tuesday afternoon at an undisclosed location in Ojai.

Meanwhile, a low-altitude weather front had moved inland from the Pacific Ocean overnight Monday, bringing cool, wet air and mild winds. Those conditions helped firefighters bring the fire under control, said Ron Hamilton, a meteorologist for the U. S. Weather Service.

Firefighters had dubbed the blaze the Lion Fire because they pinpointed its origin alongside California 33 near Lions Canyon Campground.

“With the weather changing like it has, the fire laid right down,” said Maeton Freel, a spokesman for the Forest Service. “It was real damp here last night. It was solid cloud cover, and you couldn’t see the tops of the ridges this morning.”

On Tuesday afternoon, firefighters in helicopters and on the ground poured water on the few remaining hot spots, smoldering embers that could flare up and kindle more fires if left untouched.

Also Tuesday, firefighters from Santa Barbara County clambered up rocky, 50-degree slopes with heavy rolls of one-inch hose on their backs, laying lines from the fire roads so that they could pour water from 3,800-gallon tank trucks directly onto smoking tree stumps.