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Along Highway 96, the MP18 Fire in Humboldt County grew to 4,605 acres on Thursday evening as firefighters worked to keep flames from pushing toward nearby communities. The MP18 Fire blazes toward Hoopa, Calif. The wildfire was 5% contained on Friday, according to CalFire, down from 10% on Wednesday. The fire, which started on Aug. 7, has burned through steep terrain along the Trinity River corridor and has threatened structures, power lines, tribal timberlands and cultural and natural resources. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Firefighter crews spent Friday mopping up hot spots along the Trinity River and near Mill Creek while reinforcing fire lines around Big Hill Ridge, U.S. Forest Service Operations Section Chief Travis Thane said in a Friday morning update. “We did run a significant amount of air tankers last night. You might have seen ’em coming out of the community,” Thane said. “We painted this whole Big Hill Ridge, all, basically, all the way down here to support the crews and hold this critical feature to prevent spread to the south.” Firefighters were installing hose and hand line around structures in the Marshall Lane area, while sprinklers, pumps and portable water tanks were staged as precautionary measures. Crews were also wrapping the Big Hill Lookout in protective material and building dozer and hand lines around the site to protect communications infrastructure. Firefighting crews race to contain the MP18 Fire in Humboldt County, Calif. On the eastern side of the fire, crews were working along Oil Springs Road as flames backed toward the roadway. An additional dozer line was being built along the northern and eastern edges, while helicopters were used near Skunk Creek to slow the fire and protect an indirect containment line. Advertisement Article continues below this ad An evacuation order remained in effect for an area east of Highway 96, which remains closed north of Hoopa because of fire activity, along with Hostler Ridge Road, Mill Creek Road and Big Hill Road. The full map of evacuation orders and warnings can be viewed on the Cal Fire website. BECOME A FRIEND. GET OUR AD-FREE APP. Although a strong marine layer was an asset to firefighting personnel, with overnight humidity approaching 100% near Big Hill, fire officials warned that drought-stressed trees and dead vegetation were expected to dry quickly as the marine layer retreated Friday. On Friday, smoke was also degrading air quality close to levels deemed hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency across portions of Humboldt and Trinity counties, according to data from PurpleAir. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program said Hoopa was forecast to see conditions from moderate to unhealthy for sensitive groups. Meanwhile, heavier smoke could push air quality into unhealthy levels farther inland along the Trinity River and Highway 299 corridor, including around Willow Creek, Big Bar and Weaverville. Coastal areas, including Arcata and Orleans, were expected to retain generally good to moderate air quality.