Firefighters aided by shift in weather

Higher humidity and ebbing heat allow crews to gain on some of the blazes burning throughout the state.

provided a helping hand Tuesday to some of the thousands of firefighters tackling wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes and forced scores of residents to flee.

Aided by a deep marine layer and high humidity, fire crews along the Central Coast increased containment for two massive blazes — the Alamo and Whittier fires. Farther north, slightly cooler temperatures assisted firefighters as they made headway on the Wall fire near Oroville.

The fast-moving wildfires broke out over the weekend amid triple-digit temperatures and scorched thousands of acres.

In Butte County, nearly 1,700 firefighters surrounded the Wall fire and slowed the growth of the blaze, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fire was 55% contained.

The 5,800-acre fire, which began Friday just south of Lake Oroville, has destroyed 41 homes and damaged or destroyed an additional 57 other structures.

Meanwhile, crews to the south continued to make progress on wildfires in Santa Barbara County.

In the Los Padres National Forest, firefighters dug containment lines overnight along the southern slope of the Santa Ynez Mountains and worked to slow the 11,823-acre Whittier fire.

An onshore breeze brought favorable conditions and “pushed smoke away from the coast and back over the fire, resulting in increased shading to the brush and lower fire activity,” the U.S. Forest Service said. The blaze, 48% contained, has gutted eight homes and 12 outbuildings south of Lake Cachuma.

The fire started Saturday along Highway 154 and prompted more than 3,500 people to flee.

A portion of the 28,926Nature acre Alamo fire is also burning near Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County. It was 60% contained on Tuesday evening.

Toni Davis, a spokeswoman for the Tulare County Fire Department, said the dip in temperatures had helped firefighters gain the upper hand.

After the fire broke out Thursday off Highway 166 near Twitchell Reservoir in San Luis Obispo County, hundreds of residents fled the remote area.

Flames continued to threaten 133 structures, fire officials said. Two structures, including one home, had been destroyed.

Elsewhere in the state, Mother Nature was not as cooperative. The Garza fire near Avenal in the Central Valley swelled to 16,500 acres on Tuesday and threatened at least five structures, according to Cal Fire. Nearly 900 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze, which broke out Sunday afternoon in a section of Kings County with tall grass and brush.

Farther south in San Diego County, the Jennings fire broke out Tuesday afternoon and quickly spread to 400 acres off Interstate 8, shutting down the freeway for hours during the afternoon. Five homes were threatened and nearby schools and homes were evacuated.