The Nation : Thousands Battle 29 Western Wildfires

Thousands of firefighters--plagued by erratic winds, lightning and a summer heat wave--fought to contain about 29 wildfires that were burning more than 87,000 acres in Western states, threatening homes in some places. Fire crews were at work in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Washington. Four big fires burned in interior Alaska, one having charred an estimated 24,000 acres. The Boise Interagency Fire Center in Idaho said 7,000 to 7,500 people were on fire lines, along with 42 air tankers and 10 helicopters. Many of the fires were in areas that had not burned in a number of years, spokesman Arnold Hartigan said, and some were in inaccessible terrain.