Reno, Nev. – Wildfires burned mobile homes, closed highways and forced evacuations from a wilderness park Saturday as firefighters worked through scorching heat to contain blazes throughout the West. No injuries were reported.
Lightning sparked a dozen fires that had charred 55 square miles in remote northern Nevada, where temperatures in Elko were expected to reach 98 degrees Saturday.
The two biggest fires broke out Friday in Elko County. One had burned 36 square miles, or 23,000 acres, along the Idaho border, said Mike Brown of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It was 10 percent contained Saturday.
The other fire had blackened 11 square miles, or 7,000 acres, about 5 miles southwest of Carlin. It burned two mobile homes and several smaller structures, and shut down a section of Interstate 80. On Saturday morning, the fire was 40 percent contained.
In California, three wildfires ignited by lightning spread quickly Saturday morning through a wilderness park, officials said.
More than 400 firefighters were battling the blaze, which has consumed 17,000 acres of the 2 million-acre Inyo National Forest, forest spokeswoman Nancy Upham said Saturday. Firefighters were searching for and evacuating hikers and backpackers.
A fire in central Utah forced the evacuation of a power plant and threatened several homes, railroad lines and bridges. It was triggered Friday by lightning.
Colorado wildfire: A 180-acre blaze that forced the evacuation of about 60 homes on the Western Slope was about 70 percent contained Saturday afternoon, officials said.
