Mud Lake fire effort wrapping up

The Mud Lake fire burning since Saturday afternoon in land designated as a California Wild and Scenic River Corridor near Woodfords was coming closer to containment late Sunday afternoon after burning about 580 acres.

One side of the fire blew up during a wind shift overnight, causing the amount of acreage burned to double from Saturday's estimates.

"But it's looking very good for right now," said Sierra Front Wildfire public information officer Tom Crawford from the scene. "There's virtually no visible smoke left."

Crawford said the many helicopter water drops flown on Sunday had done the job.

"Right now, we're still hitting the hot spots and working to get a perimeter," he said. "There's plenty of water up in Mud Lake this time of year so we've got plenty of good resources to make dips."

He also said the crew of about 150 firefighters responding from the Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and fire and sheriffs' departments from Douglas and Alpine counties was working on wetting down a 300-foot barrier around the fire.

One firefighter reportedly sustained a sprained ankle and injured knee overnight from a dislodged rock.

The fire was reported on Mud Lake Road off Highway 88, three miles northeast of Woodfords, at 3:03 p.m.

No structures were being threatened.

Crews battled the blaze near the California-Nevada border using eight brush engines, four S2 tankers, three single-engine air tankers, three helicopters, one air attack plane, one lead plane and nine hand crews.

Alpine County's airport was closed for the second day Sunday to accommodate air operations. It is expected to reopen this morning.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

As of 7 p.m. Sunday, officials expect containment by 8 p.m. Tuesday, and control is projected by 6 p.m. Wednesday.

n Associated Press contributed to this story.