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08/13/2013 10:15

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: Hundreds Evacuated Amid Wildfires, but Some Stay:

Firefighters were kept on high alert with a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast Tuesday that could pose problems as crews fight a fast-moving wildfire near a remote Idaho hamlet where residents have been evacuated ahead of a big blaze.

Electricity storms already sparked dozens of wildfires across the West in recent days, sending fire crews scrambling, threatening communities and impairing air quality in some areas.

Near the central Idaho community of Pine, the lightning-sparked Elk Complex Fire had burned 141 square miles of sage brush, grass and pine trees in rugged, mountainous terrain by Monday.

A few miles to the south, another big fire, the Pony Complex, had burned nearly 225 square miles of ground amid escalating winds and temperatures. Though it's now about a third contained, downed power lines complicated efforts by firefighters to corral the flames.