Army Troops Back Up Firefighters at Idaho Blazes

About 9,000 firefighters bolstered by Army troops battled brush and timber blazes in remote areas of Idaho on Sunday amid forecasts of stronger winds, unstable air and even lightning, which caused most of the wildfires raging through some 90,000 acres in the state.

About 700 soldiers from Ft. Carson, Colo., arrived Saturday night in Boise for firefighting assignments, and an additional 500 soldiers from Ft. Riley, Kan., were due today. The Idaho National Guard has been on fire assignments for several weeks.

There were about 22 major fires burning in Idaho, many in rugged areas where smoke and terrain made it difficult to assess the damage, said Rebecca Burkhead of the Boise Interagency Fire Center.

Throughout the West, 37 major fires were raging over 180,000 acres, Burkhead said.

Utah firefighters hoped to have a 1,500-acre blaze in Chalk Creek Canyon fully controlled by today. The fire did not threaten any structures.

Oregon fire crews worked Sunday to contain four more fires in the eastern part of the state, but scorching temperatures and bolts of lightning had officials worried about new blazes flaring up.

The largest Oregon blaze close to containment was the Canal Fire in the Enterprise Complex, about three miles east of Wallowa Lake near the Eagle Cap Wilderness. It has burned 23,350 acres, Liz Rayno of the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center said.

A week-old wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Central California was declared 80% contained Sunday. There were 2,163 personnel working on the 7,000-acre blaze.

In Southern California, firefighters gained the upper hand on an 8-day-old fire that scorched 15,100 acres in Cleveland National Forest and crept within three miles of the famed Palomar Mountain Observatory before switching direction.

The blaze near San Diego was 75% contained by some 2,500 firefighters by early Sunday.