The Orange County Fire Authority reports that the Santiago blaze is now 75 percent contained. Though firefighters are hoping to kill the beast by Friday (before the nasty Santa Ana winds whip it up over the weekend), the OCFA website lists Sunday as D-Day for full containment. Approximately 28,445 acres have been burned thus far.

The fire had some 2,000 firefighters on the job at its peak, but an estimated 1,800 are out there now, Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion told the Weekly over the phone a few minutes ago. It's "strategic demobilization," he said. "We don't currently need everyone that's been out here." Well, good! Hell knows those kids need to get some shut-eye.

Picture: Concepcion illustrates the extent of the fire for reporters on Tuesday, 10/23.

When a bogus post went up on a fake CNN website late last week with the headline: "Separatists Claim Responsibility for California Wildfires" and which included a "confirmation" by Gov. Schwarzenegger that MECha (the Aztlan-loving student group) had claimed responsibility for the fires, anti-immigrant websites spread the story, well, like wildfire.

Bloggers eagerly jumped at the fake bait and swallowed the hoax whole, calling for armageddon, a new Mexican-American war and anything else violent under the sun against all Mexicans everywhere before discovering the "lie" in "cnnheadLIEnews.com." (The site is no longer sporting the fake news report).

• To catch an arsonist: "We will hunt down the people responsible for (the Santiago Fire). We will not fail," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said over the weekend. "If I were one of those people who started the fire, I would not sleep soundly." Strong words, but how much weight do they carry? Four years ago, a man was witnessed starting the fire that killed four people and burned more than 200 homes in San Bernardino. Was he ever caught? Nope.
• Still on fire: Though containment is now at 65 percent, the Santiago fire continues to blaze its way towards Riverside. Firefighters had earlier said they hoped to fully contain the fire by Tuesday, but the Register reports that the latest projection for that is Friday.
• Bravo: Today's online OC page on latimes.com doesn't stray to Los Angeles and Sacramento like it usually does. Kind of sad that it takes a blaze of massive proportions to get attention for that section, but we'll take what we can get.
• Weird Val: Hollywood resident and songwriter Veronique "Weird Val" Chevalier trekked to Costa Mesa yesterday to stalk spoof radio jockey Dr. Demento, who was acting as grand marshal of the 10th Annual Trick or Treat Festival at the Orange County Fairgrounds. The Daily Pilot reports that the gal (who floated among the parked hearses dressed as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) was trying to give him her demo CD - which Demento had refused at their last meeting.
• Moment of Zen: The British edition of GQ magazine today quotes Gov. Schwarzenegger on marijuana: "That is not a drug. It's a leaf." His spokespeople scramble to put a positive spin on the statement.

Most reports are characterizing the federal response to the California fires as respectable --- or at least not a Katrina-style fuck up. So it's too bad FEMA had to go and embarrass itself by having fake reporters lob softball questions at a press conference earlier this week.

The agency apologized for the gaffe Friday, and on the bright side, none of the fake reporters are believed to be former gay male escorts.

"Thank you heros" read a the words in neon orange, painted onto a plank propped against the corner of Modjeska Canyon Road and, ominously, Shadowland. The spelling was off, but the sentiment was genuine.

Photographer Christopher Victorio and I stood with our cameras at the side of the road, watching as two L.A. County Fire vehicles drove past the thank you note, each full of California inmates clad in orange.

Moments earlier, fire crew supervisor and 25-year LAFD vet Curt Hummel stopped to chat with us as his charges sat on the side of the road, taking a 15-minute break. The crew alternates between KFI and KFWB for news of the fire.

Hummel and his crew battled the Malibu flames on Sunday, and drove down to help at the OC fireline on Tuesday. They're in better shape than they have been in previous days, says Hummel, who managed to get a whopping seven hours of sleep last night.

"Crews are stretched so thin right now that there are twice as many fires as there are crews," he said. So Gov. Schwarzenegger authorized the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to send their inmates out to help firefighters.

What do they get out of it? About $1/hr and two days off their sentences for every day served, Terry Thornton of the CDCR told the Weekly. More than 75 of these inmates are currently working on the Santiago Fire. (Update at 5 p.m. 226 are at the Santiago Fire.)

More details behind the cut:

If you're among the praying, the Council on American-Islamic Relations invites ye of any faith to join in a special prayer at the Islamic Society of Orange County in Irvine tonight at 6:30. The prayer of Salatul Istisqa is a call for rain usually offered in times of drought.

"Americans of all faiths need to offer spiritual assistance to the courageous firefighters who are battling these deadly fires," said CAIR's executive director in a press release.

I'd hate to rain on anyone's prayer-ade, but there's virtually zero chance of rain for at least the next 10 days. But I guess that's not really the point. In times of crisis, a Hail Mary or Salatul Istisqa might not put out the fires, but group prayer, such as the impromptu sessions by evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium, offers a sense of connection and hope in the face of hell.

If you call the eternal inferno of hell your home, the fires that have so far scorched 450,000+acres might seem quaint by comparison. Then I guess it should come as no surprise that many people's own personal Satan, VP Dick Cheney, dozed off in a Wednesday cabinet meeting as Bush discussed the ongoing efforts to contain the fires.

The Decider himself landed in Southern California today and photo-oped the hell out some of the hardest hit areas. Though his less than inspiring platitudes offer little comfort -- really, you think "It's a sad situation"? Thanks for the leadership, Prez -- here's hoping the federal purse stings are loosened in response to the presidential tour and "major disaster" designation.

And let's all pray that Cheney can finally get a good night's sleep.

Some readers have shared their fire photos with us. Click the photo to see them. So far, we have snaps of the blaze from Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest and Foothill Ranch. Send yours to jpkahn@ocweekly.com with a short description (and the photographer's name) and we'll add them to the slideshow.

Photo by Mike Funk.

Click the photo for more singed scenes along Santiago Canyon Road.

Tonight the Weekly drove past roadblocks on Santiago Canyon Road to see the destruction left by the blaze firsthand. What we saw was depressing, but the planes spewing fire retardant overhead were a hopeful sight. Photos will be up before the night's over, we promise are up.

Before visiting the scene, we dropped in on Orange County Fire Authority Batallion Chief Kris Concepcion, who was running on two hours of sleep. Were the firefighters getting enough downtime beneath shifts, we wondered aloud.

"What do you think? Can you see the bags under my eyes?" Concepcion retorted.