Fire crews report "good progress" against the Seven Cabins blaze

Fire crews had made “good progress” by Thursday morning against the Seven Cabins fire north of the Capitan Mountains Wilderness area, but the stubborn blaze remained at 40 percent containment, the U.S. Forest Service reported.

The USFS fire incident website said there had been “good progress” overnight as crews secured the line around the fire and mopped up "interior hot spots."

The size of the fire, reported Wednesday as 630 acres, was reduced to 532 acres Thursday on the basis of more accurate GPS data on the perimeter of the burn area.

The manpower assigned to Seven Cabins still stood at 70 Thursday.

The blaze broke out Sunday and quickly spread in extremely windy conditions amid ample slash and other fuel. Although it was only five to seven acres when the first firefighters arrived, crews struggled for the first couple of days in the rugged terrain to bring it under control.

The Forest Service said Thursday it did not expect to need additional personnel or equipment.

Although there are houses in the area, the report said none were under immediate threat.