LOS ANGELES — Firefighters battling fires raging through Western states are contending with weather and human interference, but some progress is being made. Here is a look at noteworthy fires Thursday:
California
Cooler weather helped crews fighting two fires that burned more than 8 square miles in the Angeles National Forest and foothill communities northeast of Los Angeles. The fires were 15 percent contained.
More than 1,300 homes were evacuated during the 4-day-old blaze, but around half have been allowed back.
On Thursday, authorities let hundreds of evacuated residents return briefly to homes in Azusa and Duarte to gather belongings. Residents might not be allowed back for several days, officials said.
No homes have burned.
Near the San Diego County border with Mexico, a nearly 11-sqaure-mile fire was 20 percent contained after burning five homes. The blaze still threatened 200 homes.
A heat wave coupled with nightly wind gusts drove the fires earlier in the week before slightly cooler weather took hold. But National Weather Service forecasts warned conditions of extreme fire danger could return by evening.
Utah
Crews battling a lightning-caused fire in Utah have faced record heat, nearly inaccessible terrain and, now, drone intruders.
Drones sightings forced crews to ground firefighting aircraft on three separate days.
The fire has burned about 1 square mile near Pine Valley, north of St. George, and prompted the evacuation of 185 homes. People were allowed back to their homes Thursday.
Colorado
A forest fire near the Wyoming line threatened about 40 cabins after exploding in size to more than 8 square miles, federal fire officials said.
Shifting winds sent the fire surging Wednesday from a single square mile. Trees killed by a beetle infestation fueled the flames in and around Routt National Forest, 140 miles north of Denver and 2 miles from Wyoming.
The deadwood made it too dangerous to send in crews so they were attacking the fire’s perimeter, fire information officer Brian Scott said.
“Then it’s anybody’s guess where those flames will go,” Scott said.
Arizona
In eastern Arizona, firefighters managed to corral nearly half of a fire that roared through about 67 square miles of pine, juniper and brush on an Apache Indian reservation.
Crews managed to light backfires that drew a “black line” around the south end of the blaze, fire information spokeswoman Rita Baysinger said.
Still, more than 15,000 people in Pinetop-Lakeside, Show Low and nearby mountain communities were being told to be ready to evacuate if necessary.
Temperatures that hit 100 degrees earlier in the week were down to the mid-90s. There was a slight chance of a thunderstorm, but it wasn’t expected to bring much rain, she said.
Another fire 10 miles southeast of Valle in Kaibab National Forest had slowed after burning through more than 9 square miles of brush and timber. The fire, which started nearly a month ago, was 50 percent contained.
