COLLEEN VALLES
Associated Press Writer

WESTERN WILDFIRES AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac The Moose Fire continues to burn west of Glacier National Park and north of Columbia Falls, Mont., Saturday, Sept. 1, 2001. The wind-driven wildfire exploded overnight and more than doubled in size. The fire expanded on all sides, wiping out containment lines that firefighters had established in the previous week as it grew from 19,000 acres on Friday to 40,300 acres by Saturday morning, an official said. Related: •  Rain Aids Glacier Park Fire Crews •  Montana Wildfire Said 'Still a Tiger' •  Wildfire Nears Glacier Nat'l Park •  Evacuated Town Residents Return Home •  National Interagency Fire Center •  Fire Forces Calif. Town to Evacuate •  CA Wildfire 95% Contained •  Rain Comes to Firefighters' Aid •  Wildfires Threaten Rural Areas •  Weather Helps Wildfires Fight •  Weather Helps Crews Fight Blazes •  Eight Fires Burning in Wash. State •  Night Is the Time to Get Near Fire •  Firefighter Injured in WA Wildfires •  Safety shelters are dangerous •  Western Fires Continue to Blaze •  Fire Camp Goes Up in Oregon •  U.S. Troops to Help Battle Fires •  Western Firefighters Strained •  West Wildfires Continue to Spread •  Firefighters Attack Western Wildfires •  Fire Danger in West at Top Level •  Bush, Western Govs Make Wildfire Plan •  Firefighters Take on Western Blazes

COULTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Cooler weather and lighter wind helped firefighters contain 60 percent of a 11,500-acre wildfire just west of Yosemite National Park that at one point forced more than 400 people from their homes.

The fire, believed to have been intentionally set, has been burning since Sunday. It threatened 3,000 structures at one point Wednesday.

``A lot of people have gotten through and said in our neighborhood we were spared,'' said resident Casey Garrigan. ``We were smiling all day today.''

Firefighters were hampered somewhat by smoke, which prevented air tankers from being able to drop fire retardant.

The fire has burned four homes and four other structures and injured 11 people. It also forced two highways to close for a few hours late Tuesday and early Wednesday. More than 2,400 firefighters battled the blaze, which was expected to be fully contained by Saturday.

Rain also helped firefighters get the upper hand against other Western wildfires, including several in Oregon and Washington. Fire crews took advantage of the weather to make direct attacks on seven major blazes burning on more than 150,000 acres in eastern Washington.

Across the West, 32 major fires were burning Wednesday, down from 42 the day before, said Rob Kopack of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

``It's still very dicey in the Northwest right now. But there has been some progress made,'' Kopack said.

The major fires active Wednesday were burning on 331,000 acres _ an area roughly half the size of Rhode Island, Kopack said. The total Tuesday was closer to 350,000. Nearly 29,000 firefighters and support personnel were working on Western fires Wednesday.

In Montana, firefighters were keeping an eye on wind speeds. Officials warned residents in the mountains north of Yellowstone National Park that they'll need to evacuate if a 4,000-acre blaze near the town of Emigrant continued to spread.

``Weather, fuels and topography are all working against us at this point,'' said Steve Frye, incident commander near Emigrant.

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