A wildfire that has burned about 570 acres near the eastern side of Henry W. Coe State Park since Wednesday afternoon is about 80 percent contained.
More than 500 firefighters from several agencies, four air tankers, three helicopters, three bulldozers, and 15 engines have battled the blaze since it was reported about 1 p.m. Wednesday, said Ken McGeever, battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
"We should have full containment on it by 6 o'clock (Thursday night), and hopefully it will be controlled by (Friday night)," McGeever said.
About 4:30 p.m. Thursday, 308 firefighters were still on the scene. Personnel from Cal Fire, Marin County, the city of Patterson, the city of Newman, the city of Woodland Acres, and the State Parks agency, plus 11 prison inmate crews have helped suppress the region's biggest wildfire of the year thus far, McGeever said.
The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, is in a "pretty remote" rural area just southeast of Henry W. Coe State Park. He described the terrain as "very steep" with narrow dirt roads providing the only access on the ground.
"The first ground resource didn't arrive until about an hour and a half after the fire started," he said.
All of the burned acreage was on private property, though because the area is so sparsely populated no structures were in danger, McGeever said.
The fire has been referred to as the Mustang Incident because it is close to the Mustang Peak area of the park, in southeastern Santa Clara County.
Michael Moore Michael Moore covers county and law enforcement issues for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106, ext. 202, or mmoore@morganhilltimes.com.
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