Firefighters Battle Blazes Across the Southland

Firefighters battled flames and sweltering heat Sunday as they tried to surround blazes that charred more than 1,370 acres of brush across Southern California.

Despite triple-digit temperatures in some areas, crews began to gain the upper hand on wildfires dotting the region from San Diego County in the south to Santa Barbara County in the north.

The largest fire, a 720-acre blaze in the San Diego County community of Ramona, was 75% contained, and full control is expected by tonight, said Audrey Hagen, a California Department of Forestry spokeswoman.

Two men were recovering from injuries suffered Friday when their water-dropping plane crashed while trying to scoop water from the San Vicente Reservoir.

Pilot John Wells, 37, of Aliso Viejo, had a broken shoulder. Co-pilot Mark Cooper, 48, of Dana Point, underwent 10 hours of surgery to have two fingers on his left hand reattached.

Meanwhile, an arson fire near Lake Wohlford that burned 11 homes, 15 outbuildings and 30 vehicles was 80% contained Sunday, and full control was expected tonight, officials said. More than 450 acres burned, and damage was estimated at $1.75 million.

Investigators found what they described as an “arson device” they blamed for starting the blaze.

In the Los Padres National Forest, 260 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service and Santa Barbara County Fire Department were close to surrounding a fire that had burned more than 100 acres about 12 miles northwest of Santa Barbara.