JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Bill Clinton broke away from a New England vacation Tuesday for a firsthand look at the massive damage caused by huge wildfires in 11 states. CNN's Brian Nelson reports.</s>BRIAN NELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The commander in chief assumed the role of chief fire inspector, his helicopter soaring high above acres of Idaho wilderness threatened by the state's 11 major fires. The president's chopper didn't get near the worst of those fires, in the Payette National Forest. Mr. Clinton could, however, see flames and plumes of smoke rising from the green Idaho canopy, and the charred remains of earlier fires. Mr. Clinton promised federal aid.</s>WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to release today about $150 million in emergency funds to help continue to fight the fire and to help restore the afterwards, and I hope that restoration work will lead to some jobs for the people in this area, who have been disadvantaged by this fire.</s>NELSON: The president stayed for lunch with the fire crews, offering thanks for the tough, sometimes dangerous job of fighting these wildfires. Elsewhere, there was some hopeful news emerging. Damp weather was bringing needed relief to Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park. And in California, fire officials there say they are now optimistic about containing most of that state's fires by the end of the week. But elsewhere across the West, it is business as usual this hot, dry summer -- a race to save wilderness, wildlife and many peoples' ways of life. Brian Nelson, CNN.
Clinton Takes Firsthand Look at Western Wildfires