US wildfires rage

Out-of-state crews headed to Montana Saturday to battle a blaze that injured five firefighters as the US West struggled with a series of fires that have ravaged rural lands and destroyed homes. Progress was being made on the largest blaze, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, but less than half of it was contained, fire officials said, and thousands of homes remained threatened on its eastern side. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday declared a state of emergency for four northern counties because of wildfires that he said were causing “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property.” The proclamation opens the way for more state support.