Hundreds of firefighters are battling blazes that have consumed 600,000 acres in Nevada

August 6, 1999
Web posted at: 11:21 a.m. EDT (1521 GMT)

In this story: 'Our resources are tapped' Idaho fire chars almost 100,000 acres RELATED STORIES, SITES

BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nevada (CNN) -- Firefighters are expected to work into the weekend to contain dozens of wildfires that have burned more than 600,000 acres in Nevada.

Firefighters also battled large wildfires in other Western states, including Idaho, California, Idaho and Montana.

Some 2,500 firefighters on Friday fought the northern Nevada blazes, which were sparked by more than 8,000 lightning strikes on Wednesday, said public land management officials.

The estimated 78 fires covered an area roughly one-third the size of Rhode Island. Twenty were larger than 1,000 acres. The fires were mostly in open range areas of scrub and brush, but threatened some homes and ranches and forced authorities to close Interstate 80 briefly late Thursday.

Dry conditions and lightning storms continued Thursday, feeding the fires and overwhelming the state's limited firefighting resources. Firefighters focused their efforts on protecting populated areas, leaving many fires in open range to burn unimpeded.

Near Reno, the Wilcox fire consumed as many as 22,000 acres of sagebrush and juniper pine just five miles outside the city. Authorities expect to have the Wilcox fire contained by Sunday.

Around the town of Battle Mountain, where 13 fires had burned 45,000 acres, Lander County Sheriff Michael Kranovich said, "Things are pretty hectic. We've been hit the hardest and our resources are tapped."

More than 20,000 acres of brush and juniper pine had burned near the town of Winnemucca, destroying an old mining camp.

Close to the Oregon border, 30,000 acres were ablaze near Denio. Fire officials considered this area a priority Friday, as homes and ranches were threatened.

One of the worst blazes, Idaho's Mule Butte fire, had charred 92,500 acres and was 80 percent contained by late Thursday, while an estimated 230 firefighters still were working a 130- acre fire near Wisdom, Montana.

An 1,100-acre fire near Dailey Lake in the Paradise Valley south of Livingston, Montana, was contained Thursday.

In California, an arson brush fire threatened about 100 to 150 homes and spread across more than 250 acres of steep hills on the northern edge of Los Angeles. By Friday morning, firefighters had fully contained the blaze.

Correspondent Jim Hill and The Associated Press contributed to this report.