With temperatures predicted to sizzle into triple digits today and the humidity going up in smoke, firefighters battling the Biscuit fire have their work cut out for them, Doug Huntington concluded.

Related story: Leading the Biscuit battle.

"This fire is one nasty beast," said the seasoned Bureau of Land Management firefighter. "It’s isolated, steep and rocky.

"Then mix in a dash of hot, hot weather with the yellow jackets, poison oak and rattlesnakes — it’s a real challenge to fight," he added.

The 6,108 firefighters will likely need help from Mother Nature to whip the 376,492-acre beast burning largely in the Siskiyou National Forest, said Huntington, a spokesman for the newly created Biscuit fire Joint Information Center in Grants Pass.

Although most of the firefighters are from throughout the United States, crews from Canada, Australia and New Zealand have joined the effort.

"But there comes a point when there is only so much firefighters can do," Huntington said. "We’ll need a little help from the weather."

That may come by week’s end with afternoon highs in the low 90s inland, according to the National Weather Service.

Despite the challenges, firefighters are making headway, Huntington said.

"The good news is that the far south end of the fire is 90 percent contained," he said of 28,680 acres burning in the Six Rivers National Forest in northwestern California.

"And all of the southeastern portion of the fire in the Illinois Valley is in good shape," he added.

Firefighters were able to build firelines Monday around the 400-acre "slopover" in the Whiskey Creek drainage about five miles southwest of O’Brien, he said.

There had been concern the spot fire could take out a major power line serving 14,800 customers in the communities of Gasquet, Hiouchi and Crescent City in California.

However, firelines are now between the power lines and the spot fire, Huntington said.

Meanwhile, on the northeast flank of the fire, strong dry winds forced crews to withdraw from a burnout operation intended to strengthen containment lines between Bear Camp Road and Indigo Prairie, officials said.

Yet the threat to the community of Agness has been reduced, they reported.

On the western flank, the fire crept within about four miles of the Wilderness Retreat subdivision in the Chetco River drainage. Most of the roughly 40 residents heeded a voluntary evacuation notice.

"Our challenge continues to be the weather and the rugged conditions," Huntington said. "The access is very difficult."

The fire, the largest in the state since the 1865 Silverton fire burned 988,000 acres, was started by a lightning strike on July 13.

Full containment for the southern flank in California was expected by Thursday. However, the overall fire, formerly known as the Florence fire, was 25 percent contained.

No major injuries among firefighters have yet been reported.

"We are emphasizing safety on the fire," Huntington said, reiterating, "This is a tough cookie."

For further information on the Biscuit fire, check out the Web site at: www.biscuitfire.com.

Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at pfattig@mailtribune.com