Fires Blacken 70,000 Acres in 4 States

Blazes whipped by hot dry winds have destroyed 70,000 acres of forest and brushland in four western states and are still raging out of control in many areas, fire officials said.

Officials said they had nearly contained one of the worst of the fires, an 11,700-acre blaze about 45 miles northeast of Fresno in the central Sierra Nevada foothills.

Investigators said an arsonist lit the fire that has burned out of control for three days. It has destroyed seven houses, forcing some 2,500 people out of their homes over the weekend and filling the area around the community of Auberry with thick smoke.

A 5,700-acre wildfire in the Cleveland National Forest was also continued to burn out of control Monday in a remote area of San Diego County. About 900 firefighters saved 13 homes and structures in the Cleveland National Forest blaze Sunday, said a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman, but a house and a trailer were destroyed.

A 1,200-acre brush fire in the Sand Canyon area of the Santa Clarita Valley was brought under control Monday. The blaze, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, had earlier forced the evacuation of 100 people.

Firefighters also mopped up a stubborn 10,500-acre wildfire that had burned since late last week near Atascadero in central California, and officials said it was expected to be controlled late Monday.

Lightning strikes ignited several hundred fires in Idaho, where nearly 4,000 personnel were battling blazes that have blackened more than 40,000 acres. Two dozen buildings, including a popular resort lodge, were destroyed in the south central Idaho community of Lowman.

In eastern Oregon, a 17,000-acre fire overran a state highway, forcing officials to close it to traffic.

More than 11,000 people already have been assigned to firefighting duty in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Soldiers were called out from Fort Lewis, Wash. to help firefighters who were already backed up by National Guardsmen in Oregon and Idaho.

Forestry officials said fire danger is extremely high in the region because much of it is suffering from a third consecutive year of drought.