Some Idaho residents return home after wildfire, others flee

BOISE, Idaho Some evacuated residents in the central Idaho resort area of Ketchum and Sun Valley received permission to return home Monday while residents in the tiny town of Atlanta about 50 miles to the west threatened by a different wildfire are being ordered out.

Blaine County spokeswoman Bronwyn Nickel says residents of about 100 homes have been allowed to return but about 2,000 homes remain under mandatory evacuation orders due to the 160-square-mile Beaver Creek Fire. The blaze is 8 percent contained.

Meanwhile, residents of Atlanta have been told to leave by noon Monday because of the 3-square-mile Little Queens Fire burning about 6 miles to the northwest through grass and timber.

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Fire managers say a shortage of resources due to other large wildfires in the region is hampering firefighting efforts.

An Elmore County dispatcher says the town has about 30 full-time residents plus seasonal residents. She didn't have an estimate on the number of homes involved.

The last evacuation orders near a northern Utah wildfire were being lifted Monday morning after a series of mountain fires burned more than a dozen homes.

More than 100 residents who were forced to leave Rockport Estates and Rockport Ranches in Summit County, about 45 miles east of Salt Lake City.

In Oregon, dozens of homeowners near The Dalles remained on alert as crews battle the Government Flat Complex of wildfires.

Fire spokesman David Morman said the fires were 12 percent contained Monday morning, and had scorched 1,500 acres.

Crews were working to keep the flames from the local water treatment plant, which supplies water for much of The Dalles.

Residents of about 35 of the 70 homes threatened have been told to prepare for evacuation.

Morman says afternoon winds could be a problem for firefighters.

The potential for erratic winds Monday were also problematic for crews in Northern California, where the 3-square-mile Swedes Fire in Butte County had consumed one home and was threatening hundreds more. It was 45 percent contained, but evacuation orders for hundreds remained in place.

Firefighters gained the upper hand on a brush fire in Calabasas that forced the closure of several lanes of U.S. 101 in Southern California.

Los Angeles County fire officials say the flames, which were sparked by a car fire Sunday afternoon, spread uphill and burned 170 acres. The fire was near a condominium complex.

The California Highway Patrol temporarily shut down several westbound lanes of the freeway, and an off-ramp to Las Virgenes Road. The closures caused traffic to back up for miles.

Calabasas is home to several gated communities northwest of Los Angeles.