Wildfires threaten homes and land across 10 western states

Wildland firefighters watch as a plane drops fire retardant on Harlow Ridge in Washington State (Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune/AP)

Wildfires that torched homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate were burning across 10 parched Western states on Tuesday, with the largest, in Oregon, threatening California’s power supply.

Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Centre, with Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounting for more than half of the large active blazes.