There's no question why the Beaver Creek Fire in Idaho has become the top priority wildfire in the nation.
The massive blaze has scorched nearly 160 square miles so far and has forced the evacuation of 2,300 homes near the central Idaho resort communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley, reports the Washington Post. More than 1,200 people and 19 aircrafts continue to fight the blaze, which was started by lightning on Aug. 7 and was 9 percent contained by Monday afternoon.
Roughly 104,457 acres have been affected by the wildfire in the Baker Creek area north of Ketchum, Idaho. The fire also threatens lavish homes owned by Hollywood elites like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Steven Spielberg.
About 400 residents were allowed to return home Monday on the condition that they -- along with about 7,700 others -- remained on "pre-evacuation" status, a warning that they must be ready to flee at a moment's notice. Around 1,850 other homes remained under a mandatory evacuation order, stated the Blaine County Sheriff's Office, according to NBC News.
Beth Lund, the incident commander with the U.S. Forest Service team managing the blaze, described the out-of-control blaze as "angry," telling Reuters, "Every fire has a personality, and this fire has an angry personality."
Over the weekend, hot and dry weather conditions in addition to 38 mph wind gusts made fighting the raging inferno even harder for firefighters. Winds died down Monday, however, allowing crews to reinforce a fire break running from the top of Bald Mountain to try to wall off the blaze from the tourist town of Ketchum.
Traci Weaver, a spokeswoman for the fire management team, said the weather conditions have created the perfect atmoshphere for a firestorm, and that rain would be helpful in containing the fire. "It's been hot. It's been dry. The vegetation here is extremely dry," Weaver said. "It's a perfect firestorm."
"There's better news coming," said Kevin Noth, lead meteorologist for The Weather Channel. "It looks like more clouds and higher humidity for midweek. There might also be some thunderstorms, which could bring some rain - but the possibility of lightning, too."
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