BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hot and dry conditions across much of the West continuing to plague a region already ravaged by fires. Interstate 15 in California yesterday, a simple car fire ignited a fast moving blaze that's burned 1,500 acres and forced authorities to close down a section of the main highway which connects L.A. and Las Vegas. Coordinating the effort to contain this fire and 20 more across the country, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Jeff Flock is there this morning -- Jeff, good morning to you.</s>JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bill, a hot time here even though no fire is burning where we stand right here at the moment. The people that you see around me, this is really the war room. These are the folks that are moving around the, all the groups, the equipment, the people that are needed to fight these fires. And I just have been handed the latest report overnight and I'm reading it here as I talk to you. A hundred seventy-six new fires reported as of this time yesterday. Three of those large fires and one of those the one you talked about. That is the one in southern California. And we're going to focus on that one a little later. But I just want to show you one thing. This is kind of a real great representation of that Chediski/Rodeo fire that's out in Arizona. Perhaps you see it there. And the, you know, you can almost see the heat. That's a representation of the heat up there. So this is the war room. This is where it all comes together, where they move everything around and right now they've really got their hands full -- Bill.</s>HEMMER: OK, Jeff, thanks.
Bad Conditions Continue to Foster Western Fires