More residents were evacuated from homes in rural areas west of Yosemite as wind-whipped flames made northern California a focus of firefighting in the West. Near Fire Wildfire search is best conducted at night, when the air is cooler and more humid. The wind is calm.
Darkness shows off every smoldering stump and flaming stand of dead trees.
Western Fires Fire crews stripped flaming bark from trees and buried smoldering sagebrush Friday as a wildfire crept within a few miles of homes after doubling in size overnight. Battle Fires Marine and Army battalions have been called up to join more than 20,000 firefighters who are toiling in sweltering heat and rugged terrain. The West was declared at the highest level of fire danger Wednesday as crews battled growing wildfires that had closed roads and threatened homes. Make Wildfire Plan Western governors and the Bush administration have agreed to a long-term national plan aimed at preventing and suppressing wildfires. The National Interagency Fire Center went to Level Four status Monday for the first time this year after 37 new blazes burned across more than 300,000 acres.