Firefighters make progress against big fires in US West
Source: Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dozens of wildfires burned across the torrid U.S. West on Monday, but fire agencies reported some progress in corralling the flames and forecasters predicted a gradual decrease in extreme temperatures.
The fires have forced evacuations in numerous areas with scattered homes and tiny communities where some burned houses and other structures have been observed, but total losses were still being tallied.
The fires erupted as the West was in the grip of the second bout of dangerously high temperatures in just a few weeks. A climate change-fueled megadrought also is making conditions that lead to fire even more dangerous, scientists say.
The National Weather Service said, however, that the heat wave appeared to have peaked in many areas, and excessive-heat warnings were largely expected to expire by Monday night or Tuesday.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/oregon-california-wildfires-heat-wave-252e6e70bb037e3e1415510c55aaccea
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I could barely see Ute Mountain coming home from town today. It's ten miles away! 
I looked at the visible satellite picture earlier today. The smoke from that fire looks terrifying! 