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Wildfires burn in 7 Western states, prompt evacuations

Traffic rolls east along Hwy 82 with a backdrop of brown smoke from a fire just outside Prosser, Wash., that grew to an estimated 1,000 acres and was threatening homes according to the Washington State Patrol Sunday evening, July 31, 2016. Level 3 evacuations were in effect for 50 threatened homes. Level 3 means that residents are notified that a fire is nearby and they should be ready to leave if necessary. /Walla Walla Union-Bulletin via AP)
Traffic rolls east along Hwy 82 with a backdrop of brown smoke from a fire just outside Prosser, Wash., that grew to an estimated 1,000 acres and was threatening homes according to the Washington State Patrol Sunday evening, July 31, 2016. Level 3 evacuations were in effect for 50 threatened homes. Level 3 means that residents are notified that a fire is nearby and they should be ready to leave if necessary. /Walla Walla Union-Bulletin via AP) Traffic rolls east along Hwy 82 with a backdrop of brown smoke from a fire just outside Prosser, Wash., that grew to an estimated 1,000 acres and was threatening homes according to the Washington State Patrol Sunday evening, July 31, 2016. Level 3 evacuations were in effect for 50 threatened homes. Level 3 means that residents are notified that a fire is nearby and they should be ready to leave if necessary. /Walla Walla Union-Bulletin via AP)

By Associated Press 5 min read

Wildfires were burning Monday in seven Western U.S. states, from California’s famed Big Sur region to tribal towns and hamlets near Reno, Nevada. Evacuations were ordered in Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming and firefighters were trying to stop a Washington blaze from reaching a thickly forested security zone at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

Here’s a look at some of the fires:

CALIFORNIA

Higher humidity and lower temperatures on Monday helped firefighters battle a destructive fire that has scorched more than 63 square miles near the scenic Big Sur coast, while firefighters in Central California faced blistering heat as they worked to contain a blaze that burned rural homes and forced hundreds of evacuations near the small Fresno County town of Prather.

A layer of ocean air that arrived in the mountainous Big Sur region was credited for the better firefighting conditions in an area where a fire that started July 22 has destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings and is threatening 2,000 more structures. A bulldozer operator working for the firefighting operation died in an accident last week.