Firefighters Contain 2-Day Desert Blaze

Firefighters struggled in rough terrain and blistering heat Sunday to contain a wildfire that had blackened more than 17,000 acres of desert wilderness.

The fire, which began Friday in the Cottonwood Canyon area, was burning a couple of miles from Morongo Valley, but no houses or structures were threatened, authorities said.

More than 1,200 firefighters, assisted by aircraft dropping retardant, fought the blaze, which was 50% contained. Because the fire burned in a designated federal wilderness, firefighters were not able to use bulldozers and other mechanized ground equipment.