Officials ask for help to find who started Big Sur wildfire

Firefighters were bracing for strong winds as they battled a blaze in western Montana that destroyed 14 homes and may have contributed to a man’s death. The fire is about 5 percent contained.

Fire investigators determined an unattended campfire started the blaze July 22 in Garapata Park.

The blaze has also destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings in addition to damaging three structures and two outbuildings, Cal Fire officials said.

It prompted the evacuation of an RV and tent campground off a highway.

Firefighters are setting up sprinkler systems to protect buildings in the central Idaho town of Lowman as a wildfire expanded to 75 square miles.

The blaze continues to burn through a steep and rugged coastal terrain.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton says no evacuations have been ordered and no structures were immediately threatened.

The fire is about 10 percent contained. More than a dozen homes were destroyed in Montana, and thousands of firefighters were battling other blazes Tuesday in OR and Wyoming.

Officials say the 12-square-mile fire in the Bitterroot National Forest is partially contained, but they don’t expect to have it fully under control until the end of the month. Higher humidity and lower temperatures on Monday helped firefighters battle the destructive wildfire near the scenic Big Sur coast.

Roughly 350 residents have been evacuated in areas including the Palo Colorado community, Old Coast Road and Tassajara Road.

The fire had burned 5.7 square miles in Bitterroot National Forest.

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.

According to the National Weather Service, firefighters should receive help from Mother Nature on Thursday and into the weekend as a trough of low pressure moves into the area. Seasonal and permanent residences, several guest ranches and working ranches have been evacuated. The rugged terrain has made it hard for the 5,451 firefighters working to extinguish the blaze.

Wildfires are raging in several Western states, with some fueled by wind and dry conditions.

“There still remains 2,000 structures that are threatened, (which are) riddled throughout the fire’s path”, said Erik Scott, a Cal Fire spokesman.

In this photo taken Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016, Cal Fire captain Gino DeGraffenreid monitors a firing operation with his crew of firefighters west of Cachagua, Calif.

Officials on Tuesday said the blaze, which has charred more than 43,000 acres and is less than 18 percent contained, was sparked by an illegal, abandoned campfire.

At one point, almost 5,300 firefighters were assigned to battling the blaze, which is estimated to be as large as the size of the city of San Francisco.