By John Miller, The Associated Press
PINE, Idaho — Fire crews in central Idaho took advantage of favorable winds to conduct burnout operations around a small mountain community, seeking to push a wildfire toward an area that was torched by a massive blaze last year.
Ludie Bond, a spokeswoman on the Elk Complex burning on more than 140 square miles near Pine, said Tuesday the burnout worked just as planned: Consuming dry, flammable vegetation as the wildfire stayed higher on the ridgeline above town.
The Elk Complex remains the nation's No. 1 wildfire fighting priority, since Pine and the neighboring mountain hamlet of Featherville, 8 miles from the flames, remain threatened.
