Firefighters in the west receive some relief with changing weather

Thousands of firefighters around the west are taking advantage of improving weather conditions to make strides against stubborn wildfires — even containment in some locales — that have destroyed homes, forced evacuations and scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of timber and brush. Over the weekend in Wyoming, rain allowed firefighters to attack parts of the Arapaho Fire that were previously inaccessible. States including California, Colorado and Montana were able to get almost complete containment on wildfires that have been burning for weeks. Although the moisture is appreciated, some states warn that extreme caution is still warranted. State forestry officials in New Mexico are playing it safe when it comes to saying the danger is gone and lifting fire restrictions. “We've been in a drought for so long there's a lot of catching up to do so a few days of rain is going to help us in the short term but we have to look long term,” state forestry spokesman Dan Ware said.