Washington declares state of emergency over wildfires

The governor of the US state of Washington has declared a wildfire emergency, putting the National Guard on alert.

Governor Christine Gregoire says her state is facing a siege of wildfires. The worst has blackened 42,000 acres in south-eastern Washington and is about 40% contained.

It is burning toward cabins in the Umatilla National Forest. Dozens of homes and outbuildings have been burned.

In western Montana, three firefighters who got caught in a fast moving blaze were saved by their emergency fire shelters.

The fire in western Montana more than doubled in size yesterday and is estimated at upward of 8,000 acres.

The National Interagency Fire Centre said 33 large fires, totalling 222,510 acres, were burning yesterday, mostly in western states.

So far this year, wildfires have charred 5.5 million acres nationwide, compared with 5.6 million acres at the same time last year.