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Fire crews gain ground in Happy Camp blaze By JULIE SWENSEN HAPPY CAMP, CALIF . -- The number of acres burned in a lightning-sparked fire near Happy Camp continued to grow Tuesday, but much of the burned acreage was from crews setting small fires to successfully direct the fire's path. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, 1,326 acres had burned. The "East fire," about four miles southeast of Happy Camp, made up 1,200 of those acres. The East fire was contained, meaning it had a fire line surrounding it. Monday evening, the blazes had burned about 277 acres. Officials attributed the big increase in acres burned to "burnout" operations, or smaller fires set to cut down on fuel for the main fire and to contain the direction it's moving. "At this stage, we're calling it a success," fire information officer Tricia Abbas said Tuesday. No homes or buildings have been threatened by fire. It all began last weekend, when a lightning storm moved around the Klamath River area, starting 40 fires in Northern California, just south of the Oregon border. Of those fires, 26 have been declared out. District ranger Michael Condon said the fires could have been larger if the lightning storms had covered a wide area, prompting competition for aircraft to be used in fighting fires. But in this case, the lightning was "pretty localized," he said. Nine helicopters and four water tenders were being used to fight the fire Tuesday, as well as about 40 smokejumpers and rappellers, 30 engines, three bulldozers and 23 crews. Officials are asking people to stay out of the East Fork of Elk Creek area as well as all fire areas. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA