Colorado gets a break thanks to rains

Thu Jul 5th 2012

Firefighters battling a Colorado wildfire that has destroyed nearly 350 homes and scorched 28 square miles are hoping to have it fully contained by Sunday, thanks to rain and cooler temperatures.

The light rains have helped calm the Waldo Canyon Fire, and more rain, cooler temperatures and higher humidity are expected through the weekend. That's good news in the fight against the most destructive fire in state history that's also left two people dead.

But the forecast is not as kind in eastern Montana, where a huge 380-square-mile wildfire in Custer National Forest is consuming pine, juniper and sage with the help of gusty winds. The fire has burned 16 homes.

The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, says there are 45 large fires burning nationwide, including 36 in nine Western states.