WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) - A haze of thick smoke is building over vast swaths of the West as wildfires force more residents to evacuate their homes in several states.
Fire officials say seven homes have burned and hundreds of people have been evacuated near Casper, Wyo., where a wildfire has burned almost 24 square miles. In western Montana, fire crews say there is no containment in sight for a blaze that has prompted evacuation orders for 400 homes west of Hamilton.
With winds dying down, fire crews in eastern Washington are hopeful they can gain ground on dozens of fires sparked by weekend lightning storms. But more evacuation orders were issued Tuesday as a wildfire spread in the hills west of Wenatchee.
Residents of nearly 120 homes were evacuated due to the fire burning about 140 miles east of Seattle.
