Laura Zuckerman
(Reuters) - A wildfire roaring through mountainous terrain in Idaho's Boise National Forest headed toward a resort town on Thursday, as voluntary evacuations began and firefighters scrambled to make a last stand against the advancing flames.
The Idaho blaze, sparked by a utility vehicle that caught fire, has charred nearly 70,000 acres of sagebrush and woodlands east of Boise over the past six days, burning a rental cabin and six non-residential structures, authorities said.
The fire is one of dozens burning out of control across 10 drought-parched western states, including a blaze that destroyed more than 70 homes this week in Washington state and another that was threatening a town in Southern California.
So far this season, wildfires have consumed about 6.3 million acres (2 million hectares) across the country, over 1 million acres more than the 10-year average for this time of year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise.
