Crews Getting the Upper Hand on the Day Fire

Taking advantage of cool weather and calm winds, firefighters made good progress Friday in their efforts to wrest control of the massive Day fire in northern Ventura County and said that it could be fully contained as early as Monday evening.

The wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest has charred more than 161,000 acres since Labor Day and was 63% contained Friday.

But with extremely dry conditions, firefighters are continuing their aggressive assault.

“We’ve got a handle on this fire and we don’t want to lose it,” said Curtis Vincent, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman. “I’m really optimistic, but it’s a matter of hour by hour, day by day.”

Growth of the fire was minimal overnight Thursday and early Friday; and if weather conditions hold, hand crews that have successfully laid down 34 miles of fire line could complete the last 19 miles this weekend.

“The last is the hardest section to be done,” Vincent said. “It’s very steep terrain. It will be a very tough 19 miles.”

Clouds of thick smoke from smoldering chaparral shroud much of the forest.

The rugged and steep terrain has made the fire difficult to fight.

More than 4,800 firefighters -- aided by fire-retardant-dropping helicopters and air tankers -- remain on the job. Several fire teams will be removed once containment is achieved, Vincent said, but hundreds will remain to tamp out hot spots or possible flare-ups.

“We’ll continue to have people on this fire for some time,” said Vincent, who estimated control of the fire would still take “at least a week or two.”

So far, the cost of fighting the blaze -- the fifth-largest California wildfire on record -- has topped $58 million. It has consumed more than 250 square miles.

Only three minor firefighter injuries have been reported, officials said. Three mobile homes, an unoccupied cabin, two outbuildings, two barns and five vehicles were lost.

The fire prompted the evacuation earlier this week of hundreds of homes in the mountain communities of Lockwood Valley, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines/Cuddy Valley, Pine Mountain Club and Camp Scheideck.

But many residents returned home as firefighters grew more confident about their ability to protect property.

Meanwhile, meteorologist Jamie Meier with the National Weather Service in Oxnard said a red flag warning in the fire zone has been extended through 6 p.m. today because dry conditions persist.

Although overnight moisture was expected to peak at 20%, Meier said humidity is expected to drop back to 5% to 10% by 10 a.m. Winds over the weekend should remain fairly calm, she said, with breezes from the south and southwest blowing 10 mph to 20 mph, and gusting in the mid-20s.

But the most relief will come from a cooling trend moving into the region, she said.

“We could see cooling as much as 30 degrees by Wednesday,” Meier said. “This would be perfect for [firefighters]. We even have a slight, slight chance of rain on Wednesday.”

greg.griggs@latimes.com