Western Wildfires: Firefighters Injured Battling California Fire; Crews Gaining on Blaze at Glacier National Park

Associated Press
Published: July 27,2015

Nevada County Fire Quickly Burns Thousands Of Acres

CBS Sacramento

Several large wildfires are burning across the parched West as the week begins, including a blaze that has injured multiple firefighters.
A fast-moving wildfire that began Saturday afternoon has injured four people and burned through 1,500 acres in Northern California. The fire also threatens 150 homes in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Three firefighters and a U.S. Forest Service member were injured battling the inferno, CalFire spokesperson Daniel Berlant told KTXL-TV. Three of the four injured were expected to be treated and released, while a fourth has serious but non-life threatening injuries, Berlant said.
The fire crew's position was overrun by flames, burning their engine, the French Camp McKinley Fire District told local media.
(MORE: Evacuations Ordered in Pasco County, Florida)
Previous estimates put the so-called Lowell Fire at more than 4,000 acres, but CalFire said more accurate mapping of the blaze prompted the agency to lower the fire's size to 1,500.
Still, steep terrain and general inaccessibility is hindering firefighting efforts. The fire was just 15 percent contained as of Monday morning.
Nick Wiltgen, weather.com senior meteorologist, said that current/forecast conditions are "marginally favorable for the spread of wildfires," but that conditions will get much less favorable in the coming days should firefighters fail to gain control of the fire.
"After Monday it's expected to get much hotter Tuesday through the end of the week with highs well into the 90s at the site of the fire, which is close to 3,000 feet above sea level," said Wiltgen. An evacuation center has been established in Grass Valley, California.
There are more than 1,100 firefighting personnel attending to the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the Placer and Nevada County Sheriff's Offices are looking for more information on a "vehicle of interest" that was spotted in the area around the time the fire started.
Here's an update on a few other large wildfires currently burning across the West.

Glacier National Park, Montana

Evacuation levels in Montana's Glacier National Park are being downgraded as the weather improves and more firefighters arrive to battle the blaze.
Some 570 firefighters are now on hand to battle the blaze, now estimated at about 5 square miles. The fire is now 20 percent contained.
There were about 450 firefighters on Saturday night, including four Hotshot crews, seven helicopters and 21 fire engines.
Glacier National Park is still encouraging people to come and visit, even with the closure of 21 miles of Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for National Park Service employee housing and administrative areas.

Napa Valley, California

Firefighters gained ground against a wildfire near Napa Valley wine country, and on Sunday that fire was 60 percent contained. Fire officials ended all evacuation orders and road closures.
The Napa-area blaze has burned more than 10 1/2 square miles of drought-parched countryside near Lake Berryessa, about 45 miles east of wine country.

San Diego County, California

A small wildfire that chewed through dry timber in the Cleveland National Forest was 20 percent contained Sunday. The 167-acre blaze, which broke out Friday, was not threatening structures, but it briefly forced the closure of the Palomar Observatory on Saturday. The cause is under investigation.
MORE: Glacier National Park Fire - July 2015