A fire that sparked in Mexico before entering the U.S. south of Dulzura charred about 2,500 acres over six days before it was fully contained, fire officials said early Sunday.
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The fire grew “exponentially” as it burned in Marron Valley due to winds and topography, prompting an evacuation warning for Dulzura from Tuesday to Wednesday, said Cal Fire Capt. Oscar Sotelo.
“When the wind and the topography — canyons, hills — line up, it makes the fire go pretty rapidly, everything goes in the same direction,” Sotelo said.
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One of the game-changers was the use of a night-flying helicopter to drop water, Sotelo said. That allowed firefighters to douse flames while a marine layer helped them by increasing humidity. At the peak of the fire, about 600 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, Sotelo said.
U.S. and Mexican fire officials coordinated on the fire. Sotelo credited an annual training that Cal Fire holds with Mexican fire authorities on firefighting techniques.
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