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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Latest on a wildfires burning in the U.S. West (all times local):
6:20 p.m.
A preliminary federal report shows six crew members battling an Arizona blaze were able to escape to a previously burned area before deploying their emergency fire shelters.
Authorities say the six Navajo Interagency Hotshot Crew members took cover under the foil shelters Tuesday while battling an uncontrolled area of the 71-square-mile fire on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation.
Fire spokesman Steve Berube said Thursday the burned area where the six deployed the shelters was considered a "safe zone" for them. Authorities are required to identify an escape route and safe zone as crews move into different areas of a fire.
A "24-hour report" released by the Interior Department indicates a sudden change in fire activity prompted the men to deploy the shelters generally only used by firefighters in a last-ditch effort to save themselves.
Thursday marks three years since 19 members of an elite Arizona firefighting team were killed battling one of the state's most devastating wildfires.
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10:15 a.m.
A wildfire burning through grass and sagebrush in the Boise foothills has destroyed a house and an outbuilding, but no injuries have been reported.
Officials say the fire started around midnight Wednesday and has consumed more than 2 square miles. Several thousand homes were threatened, and voluntary evacuations were in place, but few residents used a shelter.
Crews using bulldozers built a fire line to protect a subdivision.
Fire spokeswoman Tammy Barry says investigators determined that fireworks sparked the blaze but have no suspects.
Aircraft started dropping retardant early Thursday and the active part of the blaze has been stopped.
Barry says helicopters will scoop water from the Boise River near Barber Park, so river floaters should be alert.
About 140 firefighters are battling the blaze.
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