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Crews Hope to Quash Pine Fire by Saturday Evening

Fire crews hope to completely contain a fire in the Cleveland National Forest by tomorrow night. The blaze charred about 2,000 acres in a remote area in Southeast San Diego County. KPBS reporter Ed Jo

Crews Hope to Quash Pine Fire by Saturday Evening

Fire crews hope to completely contain a fire in the Cleveland National Forest by tomorrow night. The blaze charred about 2,000 acres in a remote area in Southeast San Diego County. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has this update on the Pine fire.

Fire officials say the blaze is more than 50 percent contained and is no threat to small towns in the area.

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Anabele Cornejo with the Cleveland National Forest credits air tankers for helping firefighters knock the blaze down.

Cornejo : We were blessed, this fire, we were able to get a lot of air support the first day and that's what helped us. The fire started in a very remote area and we couldn't get crews to drive in or hike in. So the air attack, they saved us essentially.

She says crews will be pulled off fire lines tonight. At its peak, more than 1,000 firefighters battled the blaze. Cornejo says the fire was caused by an illegal campfire.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.