Firefighters hold line on two California wildfires

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Exhausted California firefightersworked on Friday to contain two wildfires threatening homesalong the coast before sundown, when shifting winds wereexpected to give the blazes more power.

Fire crews have been battling a siege of more than 1,000blazes that have blackened nearly a half million acres acrossthe state since lightning storms in early June ignited drought-and disease-plagued brush and trees.

The Basin Complex and Gap fires, burning about 170 miles(273 km) apart, are being fed by dense, tall grass and brushchaparral in steep, rocky terrain that has not burned in someplaces for more than half a century.

The Gap fire, considered the state's top priority becauseof its proximity to homes in Goleta, a town of about 30,000about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Los Angeles, burnedwithin a few feet of dozens of homes overnight and stillthreatens some 2,600 homes.

The fire started on Tuesday evening along a ridge in theLos Padres National Forest, about 3 miles north of Goleta, andhas since grown to 5,400 acres (2,185 hectares). The cause isstill under investigation, said U.S. Forest Service spokesmanStanton Florea.

Fire crews on the ground spent Friday afternoon buildinglines around the main blaze and clearing brush around homes andbuildings, while air crews tried to smother flames with waterand fire retardant in the fire's path.

"(The afternoon) is when the fire is most active," Floreasaid. "The humidity has come up a little today. That helped."

But during the night, moisture-laden coastal winds havebeen giving way to a dry, offshore flow known as a "sundowner"that has pushed the fire downhill toward Goleta, he said.

Evacuation orders remained in effect for 1,700 area homes,and residents likely would not be allowed back for severaldays, Florea said. "This fire siege has been going on sinceJune 8," Florea said. "Cumulative fatigue becomes a factor."

Farther up the coast, firefighters worked on Friday to cuttrees and brush away from homes and buildings in Big Sur aheadof the slow-moving Basin Complex Fire burning in the foothillsabove the scenic community.

The blaze, which started June 21 and has grown to more than65,000-acres (26,000-hectares), sent a finger of flamesdownhill overnight toward the historic Ventana Inn beforefirefighters tamped it out with foam, fire information officerRudy Evenson said on Friday.

The fire also crept up to the Pacific Coast Highway aboutfive miles north of Big Sur on Friday but was easily dousedbefore it crossed over, Evenson said. About 25 miles (40 kms)of the coastal highway remained shut down.

"We had a pretty good morning -- it was pretty cool andquiet," Evenson said late on Friday afternoon. "It's kind ofhard to say what's going to happen. The wind is definitelypicking it up a little bit."

Fire crews have waged a house-to-house battle over thetree- and grass-fed Basin Complex fire, and so far have gainedjust 5 percent containment and did not expect to fully containit until the end of the month.

The blaze has been burning along wind-whipped ridgetops,steadily progressing northwest toward Pico Colorado, acommunity of about 2,000 people who are under an evacuationadvisory, Evenson said.

About 1,800 homes and businesses in Big Sur remained undera mandatory evacuation order, although Evenson said it wasdifficult to tell whether residents of the spread-out, remotehomes had complied. The fire has destroyed about 20 homes.

Big Sur is about 140 miles (225 km) south of San Francisco.

(With additional reporting by Bob Galbraith in Big Sur)