Fires Western United States

A plague of fire continued its unchecked course through the brush and timberland of California on Friday, driving at least 15,000 people from their homes, blackening nearly 600 square miles of watershed and closing campgrounds to Labor Day vacationers. The largest fire, a 100,000-acre blaze threatening the Tuolumne City and Groveland communities, was still out of control and moving in the direction of Yosemite National Park, where a separate fire was already burning near Cherry Creek.

Rain and even snow helped firefighters make major progress to contain Western wildfiresalthough a blaze sparked by lightning forced the evacuatindex terms National Monument in northeastern Wyoming because a 300-acre fire was burning about 2 1 1/2 miles away, officials said. In Montana, rain and snow made steep terrain slippery and hazardous for firefighters. Crews stopped digging fire lines at a 20,000-acre blaze on the Flathead Indian Reservation because of the wet rocks and mud.

Rain and even snow helped firefighters make major progress to contain Western wildfiresalthough a blaze sparked by lightning forced the evacuatindex terms National Monument in northeastern Wyoming because a 300-acre fire was burning about 2 1 1/2 miles away, officials said. In Montana, rain and snow made steep terrain slippery and hazardous for firefighters. Crews stopped digging fire lines at a 20,000-acre blaze on the Flathead Indian Reservation because of the wet rocks and mud.

Residents and firefighters across the fire-stricken West crossed their fingers and hoped for Labor Day weekend weather that most people would pray against: rain. Forecasters gave them hope with expectations of rain and cooler temperatures across the northern Rockies through Monday. "This weekend will mark the first time since spring that you'll be able to feel a dramatic change in the weather outside," said Henry Blake of the National Weather Service in Boise, Idaho.

Residents and firefighters across the fire-stricken West crossed their fingers and hoped for Labor Day weekend weather that most people would pray against: rain. Forecasters gave them hope with expectations of rain and cooler temperatures across the northern Rockies through Monday. "This weekend will mark the first time since spring that you'll be able to feel a dramatic change in the weather outside," said Henry Blake of the National Weather Service in Boise, Idaho.

Western wildfires spread by warm, dry winds burned across parts of four states, from the deserts of Arizona to Rocky Mountain forests. Record-breaking heat and electrical storms combined to spark dozens of fires. In Colorado, a 900-acre wildfire west of Ft. Collins threatened a group of homes. In Arizona, dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning had blackened nearly 80,000 acres. Arizona Gov. Fife Symington asked the federal government to declare a state of emergency.

A fast-moving wildfire fueled by winds raced across thousands of acres of the Custer National Forest in south-central Montana. As many as 20 summer homes were burned and two firefighters were injured. Elsewhere in the West, however, the nation's worst fire season in 39 years seemed to slacken under cooler weather. In Oregon, fire bosses were able to send home 100 firefighters.

With a handful of stubborn wildfires exhausting crews Monday from the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains, fire bosses said they are bracing for a hellish late summer. The early arrival of fire season is causing trepidation--especially here in Nevada, where firefighters say last year's record-book blazes have set the stage for a potentially disastrous sequel. About 1.

Facing a swath of wildfires that on Wednesday threatened to meet on the Idaho-Montana border, ecologists are becoming increasingly concerned that massive blazes could sweep through most of the fuel-choked forests of the interior West in the coming decades. "Because we've been controlling fires for so long, we are pushing them outside the range where they might have been manageable," said Ann Bartuska, director of forest management for the U.S. Forest Service. "We need to take action."

Dozens of wildfires burning across nine Western states Monday pushed the acreage blackened this summer to possible record highs, and weary firefighters looked forward to Army and National Guard reinforcements. "This is the most we've burned this early in the West," said Renee Snyder, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. "There are so many fires going on at one time that the resources are being stretched."

Facing a swath of wildfires that on Wednesday threatened to meet on the Idaho-Montana border, ecologists are becoming increasingly concerned that massive blazes could sweep through most of the fuel-choked forests of the interior West in the coming decades. "Because we've been controlling fires for so long, we are pushing them outside the range where they might have been manageable," said Ann Bartuska, director of forest management for the U.S. Forest Service. "We need to take action."

Two federal firetrucks carrying water to fight the huge wildfires in Montana's Bitterroot Valley were ticketed in Idaho for weight violations and forced to dump part of their load before being allowed to continue. The trucks, both with federal license plates and marked as Bureau of Land Management vehicles, were held for about an hour in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, while officers at the weigh station discussed the issue with their supervisor, said driver Keith Walton of Salem, Ore.

In the Bitterroot Valley, where the worst of the nation's wildfires have marauded across more than 200,000 acres of mountain forests, firefighters over the weekend mounted a desperate stand to channel flames away from thousands of houses that in recent years have crept up from the valley floor and into the lovely but treacherous edges of the wilderness. Already, more than 1,400 homes have been evacuated in the scenic canyons and forest fringes south of Missoula, Mont.

Dry, fitful thunderstorms with lightning in their bellies rolled across the West, sparking new wildfires that have consumed more than 826,000 acres in 11 states--threatening one of the worst fire seasons in history, federal officials said Monday. In Montana, more than 500 homes were evacuated in the Bitterroot Valley as intense heat and gusty winds pushed three large fires together into a massive, 25-mile-long blaze in the hills above the town of Hamilton.

With a handful of stubborn wildfires exhausting crews Monday from the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains, fire bosses said they are bracing for a hellish late summer. The early arrival of fire season is causing trepidation--especially here in Nevada, where firefighters say last year's record-book blazes have set the stage for a potentially disastrous sequel. About 1.

A fast-moving wildfire fueled by winds raced across thousands of acres of the Custer National Forest in south-central Montana. As many as 20 summer homes were burned and two firefighters were injured. Elsewhere in the West, however, the nation's worst fire season in 39 years seemed to slacken under cooler weather. In Oregon, fire bosses were able to send home 100 firefighters.

In the Bitterroot Valley, where the worst of the nation's wildfires have marauded across more than 200,000 acres of mountain forests, firefighters over the weekend mounted a desperate stand to channel flames away from thousands of houses that in recent years have crept up from the valley floor and into the lovely but treacherous edges of the wilderness. Already, more than 1,400 homes have been evacuated in the scenic canyons and forest fringes south of Missoula, Mont.

Two federal firetrucks carrying water to fight the huge wildfires in Montana's Bitterroot Valley were ticketed in Idaho for weight violations and forced to dump part of their load before being allowed to continue. The trucks, both with federal license plates and marked as Bureau of Land Management vehicles, were held for about an hour in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, while officers at the weigh station discussed the issue with their supervisor, said driver Keith Walton of Salem, Ore.

Dozens of wildfires burning across nine Western states Monday pushed the acreage blackened this summer to possible record highs, and weary firefighters looked forward to Army and National Guard reinforcements. "This is the most we've burned this early in the West," said Renee Snyder, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. "There are so many fires going on at one time that the resources are being stretched."

Air tankers, helicopters and crews on the ground waged war Tuesday on a 6,000-acre blaze at Reno's outskirts. Meanwhile, firefighters in Utah battled a 130,000-acre wildfire across the west desert. Those fires and outbreaks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming sapped the number of available air tankers, helicopters, engines and crews. "Utah is taking an awful lot of the hand crews we requested," fire information officer Stacey Giomi said in Reno.