Wildfires

Colorado is the kind of place where you can play softball in shorts in 70-degree weather in the morning, then bundle up and brace for a blizzard by nightfall. The state’s weather is so variable that one winter will leave a giant snowpack in the Rockies, and the next, like the last one, will be bone dry and prime the forests for devastating wildfires when the summer heat arrives.

BURLEY, Idaho -- This year’s fire season not only cleared out thousands of acres of vegetation, but has also exposed culturally and historically significant artifacts across south-central Idaho.

BOISE, Idaho — A black bear cub rescued from a fire in the Idaho backcountry after suffering second-degree burns on all four of its paws has been moved to a wildlife sanctuary outside the mountain resort town of McCall and is expected to make a full recovery, officials said Monday.

SEATTLE — Heavy rains and flooding in the Southwest? A near-record dry streak in Seattle?

The seemingly counterintuitive weather is not necessarily unusual for this time of year, but it’s striking when compared with the usual opinions about the regions — overcast and rainy in the Northwest and sunny skies in the Southwest. But late summer is typically the sunniest, driest part of the year in Washington and Oregon, while the Southwest monsoon season stretches into September.

BOISE, Idaho -- The Idaho Humane Society’s veterinary staff regularly treats wild animals for the affiliated rescue group Animals in Distress.

But it’s not often they’re called on to treat a 4-month-old injured bear cub like Boo Boo, which was orphaned by a wildfire near Salmon and found clinging to a tree Aug. 26.

ELBA, Idaho - - Elba resident Clair Teeter stood on his property Wednesday, his eyes scanning the mountain where a wildfire raged.

LOS ANGELES - A stubborn Northern California wildfire was 68 percent contained Friday and firefighters were making significant progress, state fire officials said.

The Ponderosa fire has consumed more than 28,000 acres in Tehama and Shasta counties since it was sparked by lightning Saturday. It has destroyed 64 homes, mostly around the small community of Manton.

“They’re making progress every hour and we’re fairly confident that we’ve got the forward movement stopped,” said Mary Ann Aldrich, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.