LINDA ASHTON
Associated Press Writer
LEAVENWORTH, Wash. (AP) -- Cooler weather with a promise of heavy rain gave firefighters a boost Monday as they tried to clear more than 30 miles of trail around a group of forest fires burning in steep, rocky mountains outside this alpine tourist village.
The size of the blaze near Leavenworth was listed as 6,875 acres, unchanged from Sunday, but containment by fire lines was officially described as zero.
Temperatures dropped during the weekend and rain was forecast for Tuesday, with a chance of snow at higher elevations.
``It will put a lid on it for a few days,'' said Mick Mueller, a spokesman for the Wenatchee National Forest.
It was one of eight major fires that had burned more than 150,000 acres by Monday morning in Washington state and one of 40 that had burned more than 450,300 acres in seven Western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.
The cluster of 13 fires near Leavenworth in the Cascade Range was started by lightning a week ago. It had forced the evacuation of 50 homes, but none has been destroyed and no serious injuries have been reported. Residents of about 30 homes were allowed to return Monday.
The National Weather Service said an unseasonably strong weather system was moving toward western Washington, with rainfall of an inch or more possible Tuesday.
If the rain comes, so will an increased threat of avalanches, Mueller said. On Sunday, a huge slide of boulders and rocks poured down Cashmere Mountain, sending up a plume of dust. Fire had loosened the soil and roots that held the rocks in place.
In northeast Washington, a fire reached a ridge overlooking Lake Omak and burned rapidly through an area of sparse vegetation, growing by 50 percent to 22,000 acres.
The fire was part of a 71,963-acre complex of fires on the Colville Indian Reservation.
In Oregon, temperatures rose to the high 80s Sunday afternoon as firefighters battled wildfires scorching more than 105,722 acres.
``It's physically taxing for fighters just dealing with the weather,'' said David Widmark, a spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland.
In California, firefighters got a handle Sunday on a fire that raged over nearly 25,000 acres in the Mendocino National Forest, 150 miles north of San Francisco. The blaze was 95 percent contained late Sunday and fire crews expected to fully contain it by Monday evening.
The fire had burned since Aug. 8, and had destroyed 30 structures, including 10 homes.
By Sunday night, firefighters had contained 95 percent of a 35,500-acre blaze 350 miles northeast of San Francisco in the Modoc National Forest.
In Utah, about 60 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, a brush fire burning on Dry Mountain forced the evacuation of about 400 campers. The fire began Saturday evening, and grew Sunday to between 8,500 acres to 10,000 acres.
High wind had pushed the smoke down into a valley, making it harder to estimate the size of the fire.
As of late Sunday, the fire was within an eighth of a mile of some homes in the town of Spring Lake, where six families were on standby for possible evacuation.
About 40 homes were evacuated Sunday along both sides of the Idaho-Wyoming line because of a 475-acre fire south of the Palisades Reservoir. And a 2,000-acre fire south of Meeteetse, Wyo., threatened ranches and an oilfield.
