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Western Wildfires: Firefighters Continue To Battle Blazes

Wildfires are tearing through some hot, drought-stricken areas of the West, including a massive blaze in Northern California. A look at the latest hotspots and what crews are doing to control them:

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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

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A wildfire that has grown to more than 25 square miles and is burning in hazardous and inaccessible terrain and approaching an increasing number of structures and affecting travel corridors, officials said.

No structures have been damaged, but the California mountain town of Markleeville remained on standby for possible evacuations, said the Bureau of Land Management, which is monitoring the fire. Several campgrounds along a highway have been evacuated and Highways 4 and 89 in the Monitor Pass area have been closed, authorities said.

Air tankers and helicopters helped hundreds of firefighters battle a wildfire south of Lake Tahoe that grown to more than 25 square miles.

One firefighter had a heat-related injury but was treated and is recovering.

Strong erratic winds and severe drought conditions have stoked the fire that was ignited by lightning Friday. About 500 personnel battled the blaze about 20 miles west of the Nevada border.

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Smoke from the fire is dispersing as far as Carson City, Nevada.

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Cooler weather helped crews make progress against a huge forest fire in a remote area of the San Bernardino Mountains.

The fire about 90 miles east of Los Angeles was partially contained and holding steady about 27 square miles as firefighters attacked the flames with a fleet of water-dropping aircraft.

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About 500 buildings, including old cabins, had been threatened, but none was lost. The flames forced several hundred people to leave camps and vacation homes.

Another blaze near Santa Margarita in central California burned two homes, four mobile homes and two recreational vehicles that people lived in. The fire burned less than 3 square miles, along with 10 other buildings, seven vehicles, a boat and a trailer. It was mostly contained.