Wildfires: Some people allowed back to homes in Ketchum, Idaho authorities on Monday were slowly allowing evacuees to return to homes that just days ago were deemed at risk from a big and erratic wildfire burning near the resort towns of Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.
The Blaine County sheriff ended the mandatory evacuation order for up to 250 homes. Most of those residences are in subdivisions on the east side of the main highway connecting these communities and are farthest from the 160-square-mile Beaver Creek Fire.
About 1,850 homes were still affected by the evacuation as fire crews focused on protecting homes and structures that line foothills and gulches up and down the valley.
Meanwhile, persistent hot and dry weather kept conditions ripe for wildfires across the West.
In California, a wildfire forced hundreds of Butte County residents from homes some 60 miles north of Sacramento, while another blaze kept residents of a southern Sierra Nevada town on edge.
Elsewhere, dozens of homeowners in a mix of ranchland, orchard and timber in the Columbia River Gorge were told to prepare for evacuation. Crews battled wildfires burning on 3,000 acres outside The Dalles, a river city popular among windsurfers.
But those blazes have yet to reach the intensity or impact of Idaho’s Beaver Creek Fire, ignited by lightning Aug. 7 and now burning in an area stretching from south of Hailey beyond Ketchum to the north.
The blaze was only 8 percent contained, but about 1,150 firefighters including elite teams known as hotshots looked to reinforce fire lines with the help of 14 helicopters and likely other aircraft.
“There will be lot of air operations going on today,” said fire spokesman Richard Reuse. “The weather is favorable. The hotshots are excited they will be able to go direct on the fire. They can do that more safely today. In combination with the air resources it looks like today will be a good day.”
The fire grew only about 5 square miles on Sunday as firefighters took advantage of less windy conditions and aircraft zoomed in and out with retardant drops.
About 50 miles to the west, residents of the mountain town of Atlanta were told to leave by noon Monday because the 3-square-mile Little Queens Fire was about 6 miles away, burning toward the community.
The Blaine County sheriff ended the mandatory evacuation order for up to 250 homes. Most of those residences are in subdivisions on the east side of the main highway connecting these communities and are farthest from the 160-square-mile Beaver Creek Fire.
About 1,850 homes were still affected by the evacuation as fire crews focused on protecting homes and structures that line foothills and gulches up and down the valley.
Meanwhile, persistent hot and dry weather kept conditions ripe for wildfires across the West.
In California, a wildfire forced hundreds of Butte County residents from homes some 60 miles north of Sacramento, while another blaze kept residents of a southern Sierra Nevada town on edge.
Elsewhere, dozens of homeowners in a mix of ranchland, orchard and timber in the Columbia River Gorge were told to prepare for evacuation. Crews battled wildfires burning on 3,000 acres outside The Dalles, a river city popular among windsurfers.
But those blazes have yet to reach the intensity or impact of Idaho’s Beaver Creek Fire, ignited by lightning Aug. 7 and now burning in an area stretching from south of Hailey beyond Ketchum to the north.
The blaze was only 8 percent contained, but about 1,150 firefighters including elite teams known as hotshots looked to reinforce fire lines with the help of 14 helicopters and likely other aircraft.
“There will be lot of air operations going on today,” said fire spokesman Richard Reuse. “The weather is favorable. The hotshots are excited they will be able to go direct on the fire. They can do that more safely today. In combination with the air resources it looks like today will be a good day.”
The fire grew only about 5 square miles on Sunday as firefighters took advantage of less windy conditions and aircraft zoomed in and out with retardant drops.
About 50 miles to the west, residents of the mountain town of Atlanta were told to leave by noon Monday because the 3-square-mile Little Queens Fire was about 6 miles away, burning toward the community.
