Wildfires burn across the West

The extreme fire conditions across the U.S. West have exploded, with several burning across the region as of Aug. 15, 2012, and about 70 homes destroyed in Washington state. In recent days, one firefighter died in Idaho after being struck by a falling tree. Another suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation after a blaze along the Nevada-Oregon border forced her to crawl into an emergency fire shelter. In this photo, a tree is engulfed in flames as a fire burns the grass ahead, Aug. 14, 2012, on Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash.

Credit: AP Photo/Elaine Thompson