ANDREA CAVANAUGHM
Associated Press Writer
RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) -- A mammoth blaze in the rugged Sierra Nevada grew to nearly 50,000 acres, forcing residents in a rustic mountain village to pack up their livestock and leave under the smoky sky.
Similar hotspots were found across the West, as firefighters battled numerous blazes from Idaho to Colorado in the worst fire season since 1996.
The Sierra fire charred pine forest and brush just east of Sequoia National Forest, destroying two outbuildings and an abandoned Boy Scout lodge, and threatening homes in scenic Kennedy Meadows. No homes were burned.
Firefighters said they hoped to surround the fire by Aug. 10. Only 10 percent of the blaze was contained by early Sunday.
Farther south, a fire that began Saturday afternoon consumed 2,200 acres of heavy brush, some of it more than a century old, on the Pechanga Indian Reservation in the Cleveland National Forest.
The fire threatened 20 to 30 cabins at the Woodchuck Campground, which was evacuated, as about 500 firefighters fought the flames in 100-degree heat. The blaze was 20 percent contained early Sunday.
At Kennedy Meadows, at least a half-dozen hardy residents moved horses, dogs, and mobile home trailers to safety, then returned to hang out at the only store in town.
Leona Hansen said she stayed open because her Kennedy Meadows General Store is the only place with telephones.
Some firefighters stopped by her porch for a cool drink, she said.
``We're waiting for them to say, 'This is it. Get out of here.' And when they do, we'll be out of here in a flash. We're not going to be heroes,'' Hansen said.
Authorities issued a mandatory evacuation order Thursday, but some residents opted to stay in the isolated area. Only 43 people live in the area full time. Many of the homes are weekend getaways for urban dwellers.
More than 1,300 firefighters were aided by nine helicopters, five air tankers, four bulldozers and more than 50 fire engines. Eight firefighters have been injured since the fire began July 22. The cause of the blaze had not been determined.
Elsewhere in the West, crews fighting a huge blaze in Idaho placed protective wrapping on historic buildings in the Salmon-Challis National Forest, including the Leesburg gold mining town, one of the state's first settlements.
That fire near the Montana state line was moving about a mile a day and had charred 60,000 acres.
Another Idaho fire, which burned onto the grounds of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, was contained at 30,000 acres.
An enormous range fire in northeastern Nevada raged largely unchecked Saturday, having charred 61,995 acres, and officials warned of gusty wind and triple-digit temperatures.
``The extreme danger existing in Nevada through this weekend cannot be underestimated,'' said state Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey.
Crews in Utah worked Saturday to put out dozens of wildfires that had blackened about 35,000 acres. Flames from a 1,000-acre blaze about 31 miles south of Salt Lake City, in South Fork and Bear Canyon, were within sight of several homes.
Two big fires in eastern Washington were virtually neutralized. One, a 9,500-acre fire in Okanogan County, had destroyed 37 homes since last weekend.
Slightly cooler, wetter weather Saturday aided Colorado fire crews who were able to fully contain a blaze that burned 23,600 acres at Mesa Verde National Park.
Calmer wind early Saturday allowed firefighters to return to the lines of an 8,000-acre blaze on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in eastern Arizona. Gusty wind on Friday swept flames through one firefighters' camp.
Firefighters also continued to battle a blaze in the Los Padres National Forest in California that had grown to 4,250 acres by Sunday morning. Three firefighters were injured, two with bee stings and one with heat exhaustion.
The fire was 70 percent surrounded as of 6 a.m. Sunday, with full containment expected Tuesday.
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