Burn permits in Yuba, Nevada and Placer counties will be suspended today until "substantial" rain dampens the area, CalFire representatives said.

Bill Mendonca, battalion chief with Yuba-Nevada-Placer unit of CalFire, said any fire call will be treated as a wild fire because residents are not permitted to burn.

"The permits are no longer valid," he said. "It will last until the rainfall which comes sometime in November."

Mendonca said residents of these counties were given every opportunity to clear debris from their homes and create a defensible space. Many local fire units, he said, canceled permits when the first fire, the Ophir Fire near Oroville, was reported June 10.

Since then, dry lightening caused a majority of the fires that burned an estimated 379,115 acres in Northern California.

John Heil, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said there was a possibility of rain in the far northern part of the state this week. But the changing weather pattern could also bring new lightning and high winds, which could touch off new blazes and fan the current ones, he said.

Even a modest rain storm — highly unusual in July — would do little to diminish the likelihood of a long, tough fire season, Heil said.

"Unless it rains, and we get some really good rainfall, you can pretty much expect it to be here right through October," he said.

Mendonca said fire danger increases with the Fourth of July holiday. Fines, he said, will be issued for the use of fireworks that are not "safe and sane."

"Many agencies just gave warnings in the past," Mendonca said, referring to fireworks that shoot into the sky. "But this time we aren't kidding."

CalFire and hundreds of supportive fire agencies continue to battle thousands of fires in Northern California, including the Yuba River Complex in Nevada County, which burned 3,445 acres and is 59 percent contained; the Butte Lightning Complex in Butte County, which has burned 16,000 acres and is 20 percent contained; and the Walker Fire in Lake County, which burned 14,000 acres, was fully contained Sunday.

A 39,600 acre fire continues to burn in Monterey County, threatening the town of Big Sur. Firefighters poured personnel and equipment into the area to ensure the fire did not reach the town, said John Ahlman, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest.

Only 3 percent of that fire is contained.

The fires have affected air quality throughout the state, according to CalFire. Many outdoor activities — from swimming at Yuba City's Gauche Aquatic Park to the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run from Squaw Valley to Auburn — were canceled over the weekend.

According to the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Resources Board, though, skies seem to be clearing.

Yuba City measured at 15 Monday, according to the agency's Web site. Air quality lower than 50 is considered good. On June 25, Yuba City reached a measurement of 199. The agency rates the air very unhealthy at 201.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Andrea Koskey at 749-4709 or akoskey@appealdemocrat.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.