Containment efforts continue on massive Holloway Fire

DENIO - Firefighters say higher humidity has helped them get a handle on a huge wildfire burning on both sides of the Nevada-Oregon state line.

Crews were working Thursday to maintain fire lines on the Holloway Fire, which was 71 percent contained.

The fire has burned 687 square miles of sagebrush since it was sparked by lightning Aug. 5. Half of the fire is in Nevada and half in Oregon.

On Wednesday, they had all but contained the fire in Nevada, but there's still plenty of work left to do in Oregon.

Nearly 750 firefighters and support workers are battling the blaze.

Across the West, dozens of fires fueled by searing heat, dry weather and strong winds have added up to misery for weary residents who already are fed up with one of the region's worst fire seasons in decades.

Wildfires have tormented homeowners in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California, as arid conditions have kept fire crews busier than usual across the region.

Jennifer Smith of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said more wildfires have occurred, and the fires have gotten bigger.

As of Wednesday, 42,933 wildfires had been reported in the U.S. this season, burning 6.4 million acres. The 10-year average for that period is 52,535 fires but covering 5 million acres, she said.

"Nevada has been hammered, and Idaho has some big ones that are going to burn until the snow falls," Smith said.