Several wildfires burn in combustible Western states

Firefighters took aim at an uncontained wildfire tearing through Montana’s Glacier National Park during key tourist season.

Strong winds pushed the blaze through the park’s conifer-topped ridges, charring more than 6 square miles, destroying a historic backcountry structure and closing nearly half of a highly traveled park roadway.

The wildfire is just one of several chewing through the dry West:

CALIFORNIA’S NAPA VALLEY

Firefighters had contained enough of the fire about an hour’s drive from the state’s famed wine country that some residents were able to return home Friday.

Evacuation orders were called off for roughly 50 of 200 evacuated homes as firefighters stunted the blaze’s growth Thursday night, said Amy Head, state fire spokeswoman. It has burned more than 10 1/2 square miles in drought-parched countryside near Lake Berryessa.

LAKE TAHOE AREA

Crews on Friday had partially surrounded a fire that shut down a highway linking Sacramento and Reno, Nevada, and led to a handful of evacuations. The blaze broke out Thursday afternoon near South Lake Tahoe and has charred more than 100 acres in heavy timber along steep canyon walls.

WASHINGTON STATE

A wildfire raging in southeastern Washington state has burned one home and more than 9 square miles, leading to evacuation orders for several dozen homes in two rural areas. Crews are working Friday to prevent the blaze from reaching a watershed that provides drinking water for the city of Walla Walla. Dozens of homes are threatened.