NU Online News Service, Aug. 2, 3:48 p.m. EDT

A rash of wildfires that flared up in Southern California overthe weekend appears to be under control after claiming close to 90structures in the region.

The largest, the Crown fire, which began July 29, was 89 percentcontained as of 6 a.m. local time today. The fire destroyed 9structures and consumed close to 14,000 acres. Mechanics working ona car were blamed for starting that blaze, which at one time forcedclose to 2,000 people from their homes.

According to the County of Los Angeles Fire Department website,the fire was located southwest of Palmdale, north of the SierraHighway. All roads throughout the region of the blaze have beenreopened to normal traffic, and fire crews are constructingcontainment lines and working hotspots. Evacuation centersthroughout the area have now closed.

Full containment is expected by this evening, a spokesman forthe Insurance Information Network of California said.

The West fire that began on July 27 in Kern County is 100percent contained and claimed more than 1,600 acres. In terms ofpersonal property damage, this blaze was probably the worst, takinga total of 64 structures, 41 of which were categorized asoutbuildings.

At its height on Friday, more than 1,000 personnel were involvedin fighting the fire.

In a Fire Season Outlook put out by the National InteragencyFire Center in May, officials said there could be a spike in thisyear's fire season as some parts of the country, primarily in thenorthern half of the west, have not had as much rainfall as in thepast. The agency blamed the drier weather on an El Ni?o winterweather pattern.

Despite the number of acres so far consumed by a number of firesin Southern and Northern California, there is no indication thatinsured losses have reached catastrophe proportions.

Catastrophe is defined by the Insurance Services Office as anevent that causes $25 million or more in insured property lossesand affects a significant number of property and casualtypolicyholders and insurers.