Firefighters battle blazes in the West

WILDFIRES in the West last week raged near several tourist sites. Here was the situation at the Travel section’s extended deadline Friday:

* At Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, the North Rim, the North Kaibab Ranger District and Arizona Highway 67 were reopened Friday to park and emergency personnel after a nearby blaze was 45% contained, a spokesman said. The North Rim was expected to be reopened to the public on Monday. Hundreds of tourists had been evacuated.

Updates were available at (928) 643-6804.

* A 4,317-acre wildfire near the resort town of Sedona, Ariz., which caused hundreds of evacuations in the Oak Creek Canyon area earlier in the week, was contained.

* More than a dozen fires caused by lightning near Carson City and Reno, Nev., which had threatened hundreds of homes and businesses and caused sporadic road closures earlier in the week, were largely contained by Friday, the Associated Press reported.

-Jane Engle

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Bahamas malaria may be abating

A recent outbreak of malaria in the Bahamas was not yet contained but no new cases of malaria had surfaced in the Bahamas as of the Travel section’s extended deadline Friday, said a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official.

“Everything is looking very good,” said Dr. Paul Arguin, chief of the CDC’s domestic response unit for the malaria branch. “They’ve done all the right things.” Still, he said, it’s too soon to say it’s over.

The first reported case of malaria was June 6; since then, 18 people have tested positive, said Dr. Baldwin Carey, director of public health for the Bahamas.

“All are doing well,” he said. “There have been no serious outcomes and no deaths.”

The outbreak is in Great Exuma. The Exumas include 365 cays and islands, beginning about 35 miles southeast of Nassau.

Malaria, spread by mosquitoes, can cause a severe, potentially fatal illness unless treated promptly.

The CDC issued an outbreak notice June 16, recommending that travelers to Great Exuma take chloroquine, an anti-malarial medication, and use insect repellent. “We’re not advising against travel,” Arguin said.

The islands have stepped up their mosquito-abatement programs, Carey said.

-Kathleen Doheny

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Ocean Institute

is bubble-minded

FROTHY, insubstantial bubbles pop by the billions with a roar and a hiss every time a wave breaks against the shore, and the Ocean Institute in Dana Point is showcasing them in a new exhibit this summer. “Sea Bubble Science: Give Me a Break!” is running weekends through Sept. 3.

The exhibit has several hands-on activities so visitors can listen to bubbles, make bubbles and study the role they play in transferring gases between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Open weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Sept. 3. Admission $6 adults, $4 children.

The institute is at 24200 Dana Point Harbor Drive; (949) 496-2274, www.ocean-institute.org.

-Susan Lendroth

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In brief

San Francisco dining: Holders of Visa cards can enjoy four-course dinners this month for $54.95 per person (plus tax and tip) at dozens of San Francisco restaurants. “Dine Out With Visa” is modeled on a popular program offered each January.

For information: www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/dineoutsf.

Grounded: United Airlines last weekend canceled 186 flights because there were no crews to fly them, said United spokesman Brandon Borrman. Thousands of passengers were affected. Borrman said the airline didn’t have enough personnel on standby to replace crews who “timed out” because of East Coast storm delays. He said the carrier was revising its standby system to avoid a recurrence.

-- Compiled by Jane Engle