Fire managers battling an enormous wildfire that has scorched nearly 160 square miles and forced the evacuation of 2,300 homes near the central Idaho resort communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley expressed optimism Sunday as additional crews arrived to help fight the blaze.
Officials said the fire had grown only about 12 square miles because of cloud cover the day before and the arrival of additional crews and equipment. Many firefighters worked Sunday to create protective firebreaks.
More than 1,200 people and 19 aircraft are now battling the lightning-caused Beaver Creek Fire, which started Aug. 7 and is 9 percent contained.
Nearly 90 fire engines also are in the region, many protecting homes in the affluent area where celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis own pricey getaways.
"Today they're very optimistic that we will reinforce those lines in case the fire does flare up as we saw on Thursday and Friday," fire spokeswoman Shawna Hartman said.
The number of homes evacuated by the fire remained at 2,300 by Sunday evening. Another 7,700 in the area are under pre-evacuation, KTVB reports, as authorities are urging homeowners to start packing up their belongings if they are forced to leave.
But despite the adverse conditions and extreme fire behavior, some progress was made on the Beaver Creek Fire's south end, where crews conducted mop-up along the borders of blackened foothills west of Hailey.
"It was a good day from the standpoint that we had no injuries, no lives lost, and no homes and property burned," fire spokeswoman Lucie Bond said. "Firefighters have been going house-to-house to decrease the risk. We're simply not going to leave homes unprotected."
Elsewhere in the West, the last evacuation orders were scheduled to be lifted Monday after a series of mountain fires burned more than a dozen homes in Utah.
More than 100 residents who were forced to leave Rockport Estates and Rockport Ranches, about 45 miles east of Salt Lake City, will be allowed to return in the morning.
Among them are family members of a couple who got married over the weekend in a backup ceremony at a century-old church after they had to flee their original venue with the bride's wedding dress.
Tawni Sprouce and Travis Mann planned to exchange their vows at her parents' home overlooking Rockport Reservoir. But the residence was among the scores evacuated after the lightning-sparked Rockport fire burned nearly 2,000 acres.
First, the couple moved the wedding to a campsite at Rockport State Park near the community of Waneship. But rain then pushed the ceremony inside the park's Old Church.
Mann said that given the circumstances, the couple welcomed the moisture. He said Saturday's ceremony eventually went off without a hitch.
Fire officials said Sunday the Rockport fire was 70 percent contained.
Utah's biggest blaze, the Patch Springs Fire, was estimated at 50 square miles and 25 percent contained Sunday.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for that fire, which burned 10 homes near Willow Springs on Friday. But a portion of State Highway 199 remained closed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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