Cooler, wetter weather cuts down on acrid smoke

BOISE, IDAHO» Storms brought cooler and wetter weather into the Western and Northwestern U.S. this weekend, breaking up a temperature inversion that had blanketed much of the region with acrid smoke from dozens of wildfires.

Officials at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise said Saturday they expected fire activity to decrease over the next several weeks. Center spokeswoman Kari Cobb says air quality should improve as the inversion breaks up.

“We should see it lifting more today,” she said Saturday. “It’s predicted to be mostly gone by tomorrow in most of the West.”

MONTANA

Firefighters in droughtstricken Montana used sprinklers and hoses on Saturday to try to protect strategic locations near some of the over two dozen wildfires burning in the state that have forced more people from their homes.

A “rain for rent” system was being used in Glacier National Park, including around Lake Mcdonald Lodge, to increase humidity in the immediate area. That means firefighters were using sprinklers to recharge a swamp on the perimeter of a 176-square-mile fire burning near Seeley Lake.

IDAHO

At least four high school football games were cancelled Friday and another 13 postponed due to smoke from wildfires that the state Department of Health and Welfare said was so bad children and teens should be kept indoors and activities like football and soccer avoided.

Idaho’s largest wildfire continues to burn in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in central Idaho . It’s being allowed to burn unchecked, but buildings and bridges are being protected.

WASHINGTON

A 165-square-mile wildfire burning within the Pasayten Wilderness about 12 miles north of Mazama is the largest wildfire in Washington state.

Officials say the fire is about 40 percent contained but rugged terrain is hampering firefighting efforts.

OREGON

A wildfire burning in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is holding at about 52 square miles but residents in communities in three counties remain under evacuation notices and those in other communities have been told to be ready to flee.