STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands of firefighter trying to gain control over 30 major fires now in the western United States. 10 states are being ravaged by the blazes. Let's turn to fire information officer Betty Higgins, who's in Leavenworth, Washington, at this hour. Miss Higgins, thanks for joining us. You had gusty winds earlier in the day. Is that still the case?</s>BETTY HIGGINS, FIRE INFORMATION OFFICER: Yes it is, actually. We are experiencing winds with gusts up the 20 miles an hour.</s>FRAZIER: Of course, what does that mean for the firefighter?</s>HIGGINS: Well, this is -- usually when you hear that, then it causes a little bit of a concern. But the thing that's going on here is we're experiencing some unusual weather caused by the Columbia River. Actually, what it's doing is slowing the fire down just a little bit. I know that sounds...</s>FRAZIER: Is that because more humid air is moving off the river?</s>HIGGINS: No, what's happening is the Columbia River is pulling the winds and it's drawing the fire down the canyon, which is unusual for this time of the day. Normally this the time of the day that we're experiencing the rapid runs up canyons, and that's because of the slope and the humidities are so low at this time. So there's almost like a -- they're counter-acting each other. It's actually caused the fires not to grow as quickly at this time, which is unusual.</s>FRAZIER: Well, that's good news for a change. Thank for that update. We'll be checking in with you as the week progresses. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Wildfires Engulf 10 Western States