BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: In the west, firefighters are grateful for the rain that's fallen but hoping for more as they wage war against wildfires: 77 major ones are now burning across 1.6 million acres in 14 states, mostly in the west. CNN's Jim Hall (sic) joins us from Hamilton, Montana -- Jim.</s>JIM HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bernie, people throughout this part of Montana are certainly hoping that the Labor Day weekend will be a wet one for them. These fires in this part of the country started about a month ago, and since then have been burning in tinder- dry drought conditions. One example, just yesterday, late in the afternoon, there was a small flair-up on one section of the Skalkaho fire, as they call this complex of blazes. Almost immediately some embers blew across into an adjoining canyon, and firefighters say within minutes that fire took off, running 1,000 yards in only 20 minutes before it could be stopped. So very dry conditions persist. The forecast, though, starting late Friday, there is a chance of rain anywhere from a tenth to a half inch of rainfall, perhaps continuing through the weekend. Also, temperatures lowering to 60 degrees, humidity upwards of 60 percent. All of that very, very good for firefighters. This will cause the fire to lay down and give them a chance to do some real headway on these destructive blazes -- Bernie.</s>SHAW: OK. Thank you very much for that report.
Firefighters Hoping for More Rain in the West