Rain Helps Crews Mop Up Some Fires But Drier Weather Ahead In Worst Fire Season In Years

Rain pitched in with Army and Marine crews mopping up forest fires in northeastern Oregon, but withering winds forecast elsewhere in the West kept the worst wildfire season in 39 years rolling.

Fifteen major wildfires burned Wednesday across 264,794 acres in six Western states - Oregon, California, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado - down from 19 fires on 329,954 acres on Tuesday.

“The weather’s doing us a big favor” in Oregon and Idaho, said Wendell Peacock, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.

“But this is a temporary situation, our weatherman tells us.”

Warmer, drier weather is expected this weekend and into next week, with some dry lightning in Utah and surrounding states.

The 86,533 fires that have burned 5.8 million acres around the nation this year mark the worst wildfire season since 6 million acres burned in 1957, Peacock said.

Cool temperatures and higher humidity slowed the advance of three Idaho fires that have burned 12,755 acres. The worst was the Bridge fire in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which was just 1 percent contained after burning 12,000 acres.