Crews Gain Ground Against Wildfires

Firefighters were gaining ground against several large blazes burning in the West, officials said. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, reported firefighters had made good progress in combating several of 11 large fires that have burned more than 210,000 acres in California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Oregon. The largest fire, a 135,000-acre blaze in central Utah, has been half contained, said fire information officer Jim Lane. Firefighters in western Nevada were working on putting out hot spots left from a 6,700-acre blaze that had threatened Reno suburbs. A 24,000-acre blaze burning in timber and sagebrush near Miles City in eastern Montana was 80% contained, the National Interagency Fire Center said. An 18,000-acre fire was burning in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in Oregon.