In northwestern Montana, a fire that started Friday afternoon near the town of Elmo on the Flathead Indian Reservation measured 16,226 acres, fire officials said. Some people were forced to flee their homes as gusting afternoon winds drove the fire.
The Moose Fire in Idaho has burned 58,168 acres in the Salmon-Challis National Forest while threatening homes, mining operations and fisheries near the town of Salmon. It was 23% contained Tuesday, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC).
And a wildfire raging in northwestern Nebraska led to evacuations and destroyed or damaged several homes near the small city of Gering. The Carter Canyon Fire began Saturday as two separate fires that merged. It was more than 30% contained by Tuesday.
California's McKinney Fire grew to become the state's largest fire so far this year after it was fed by weekend winds gusting to 50 mph.
Cloudy weather and rain helped firefighters Sunday night and Monday as bulldozers managed to ring the small and scenic tourism destination city of Yreka with firebreaks. Crews carving other firebreaks in steep, rugged terrain also made progress, fire officials said.
The blaze was holding about four miles from Yreka, population about 7,500.
“We’ve got the weather,” said Todd Mack, an incident fire commander with the U.S. Forest Service. “We’ve got the horsepower. And we’re getting after it.”