LAS VEGAS (AP) --With extreme fire conditions and an influx of holiday travelers expected at public lands this weekend, officials formed a rapid-response plan as colleagues continued to battle a series of large wildfires burning in southern Nevada.
Some 235 firefighters were divided into groups and assigned to geographical areas, patrolling for any sign of smoke and available to respond should a fire begin, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Pam Sichting said Saturday.
''With these folks strategically located throughout the area, those resources can quickly get to a fire and get it contained,'' Sichting said.
The groups included firefighters from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Division of Forestry and the Clark County Fire Department.
Temperatures were expected to exceed 100 degrees in the Las Vegas area on Saturday, combining with relative humidity and mild winds.
The largest wildfire was burning near the Nevada-Utah border in eastern Lincoln County. The Duzak Fire covered an area of nearly 552 square miles, although only about half had burned.
About 15 firefighters were assigned to protect the dozen homes of Motoqua, Utah, with the Duzak Fire about 1
