Area Moisture Gives Hope On Containing Halfway Hill Fire

Although still only 10 percent contained, monsoonal moisture and less gusty wind conditions Wednesday aided firefighting efforts on the 11,637-acre Halfway Hill Fire. Residents of the Virginia Hills subdivision were allowed to return to their homes on Wednesday. They had been under evacuation since the fire started on July 8^th. Wednesday firefighting operations included helicopters transporting 62 firefighters to hard to access locations, along with moving 13,500 pounds of cargo and delivering thousands of gallons of water to fire hotspots. While fire managers were optimistic about progress made securing the fire perimeter and the approximately ¼” rain parts of the fire received, fire behavior specialists cautioned the moisture would not begin to lessen the burn potential for a forest that has experienced prolonged drought. More showers are in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, and higher humidity is expected to tame some of the overnight fire activity the fire has exhibited in recent days. Area residents are invited to a community meeting on Friday, July 25^th at the City of Fillmore's North Park Pavilion where incident managers will answer questions on fire suppression efforts.