Rain-soaked hillsides dampened the progress of the Piru and Simi Valley fires Friday, sending crews back to camp.

Backed by a forecast for more rain, officials at the Simi Valley fire predicted full containment by this evening. The blaze consumed another 1,064 acres Friday, bringing the total acres burned to 108,304.

"The rain has helped," said Mick Mueller, a spokesman for the Simi Valley camp. "It's going to put down all the small areas of smoke. We're hoping we get a good soaking rain to put out the larger pockets."

Heavy rains were predicted Friday night. With as much as a half-inch of rain falling per hour over the Piru burn area, the National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning at 5:10 p.m.

Fire officials at the Simi Valley and Piru camps acknowledged the unstable conditions, removing crews from fire lines, burn-outs and other efforts aimed at bringing the blazes into containment. All public access to the Los Padres National Forest, where much of the Piru fire activity was centered, was closed east of Highway 33.

"It's rained a whole lot more on the fire than it's rained here," said Ed Carey, a spokesman for the Lake Piru fire camp. "The rain definitely helps if there are hot spots. But along with the benefit, it brings some safety problems as the areas where the crews are working become more slippery."

Firefighters pulled off lines

Crews at the Piru blaze faced increasingly slick ground conditions Friday afternoon, sending firefighters back to camp to relax in their tents and under tarps. Rain also halted Simi fire crews' efforts on a burn-out near Stevenson Ranch designed to stop the fire's advance to the east.

But the rain might finish off what the firefighters started.

With 85 percent of the Simi Valley blaze contained late Friday, fire officials expected to wrap up containment efforts this evening.

Officials at the Piru fire offered no containment timeline but reported that 40 percent of the fire was under control late Friday. Only 272 acres burned Friday, bringing the total to 63,991 acres.

"It's not doing anything out there," said Curtis Vincent, a spokesman for the Los Padres National Forest. "There's a substantial amount of rain, more than we expected."

Rain totals ranged from one-quarter of an inch along the coast to nearly one inch in the mountains on Friday, the first day of a weeklong storm predicted by the National Weather Service. Cooler temperatures, intermittent rain and snow at higher elevations are expected through next week.

The forecast coincided with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District's report Friday that air quality is good throughout the county.

Firefighting costs mounting

Despite signs that the fires were coming under control Friday, officials reported mounting costs and damages from the blazes.

The cost of the Simi Valley fire was estimated at $6.8 million Friday, and efforts to stop the Piru fire were estimated at $6.25 million.

In the Simi Valley fire, a total of 37 residences in Ventura and Los Angeles counties have been destroyed and another 11 have been damaged. One residence, an abandoned forest ranger lookout, and a commercial building were destroyed in the Piru blaze.

Agricultural losses surpassed $11.3 million Friday, with avocados accounting for about half of the damage. Lemons and nursery stock also were hard hit, according to Ventura County Deputy Agricultural Commissioner David Buettner.

About 300 of the 10,000 acres of avocado groves in the county that supply Calavo Growers were damaged in the fires, said Bob Gloeckler, district manager for the marketer's Santa Paula office. Much of the fruit was just a few months away from being picked.

Total damages in the Simi fire passed the $20 million mark Friday, according to officials. The damages in the Piru fire were not calculated by deadline.

Fire victims will have access to a "one-stop" local assistance center in the Camarillo Business Center by early next week, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman John Treanor.

The center, at 730 Paseo Camarillo, will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Treanor said fire victims will get faster service if they first call FEMA's tele-registration number at 1-800-621-3362 to obtain a case number.

Red Cross officials said the agency has gotten enough pledges designated for the Southern California Wildfire Relief effort. All money donated that is earmarked for wildfire relief will go to wildfire relief, an official said.

Also, the WellPoint Foundation, the charitable giving arm of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., announced it is donating $250,000 to the wildfire relief effort.

Representatives from federal, state and local governments and voluntary groups such as the Red Cross will be on hand to assist with claims and other aid, Treanor said.

-- Staff writers Deborah Crowe and Marjorie Hernandez contributed to this report.

On the Net: http://www.fema.gov