Western wildfires calm down in cool weather, but losses grow

Cal Fire Capts. Derek Leong, right, and Tristan Gale monitor a firing operation, where crews set a ground fire to stop a wildfire from spreading, while battling the Dixie Fire in Lassen National Forest, Calif., on Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

INDIAN FALLS, Calif. (AP) — Cooler weather is helping calm two gigantic wildfires in the U.S. West.

But a tally of property losses mounted Tuesday in a tiny California community savaged by flames last weekend and in a remote area of Oregon.

Teams tallying the damage from the Dixie Fire in Northern California have so far counted 36 structures destroyed and seven damaged in Indian Falls.

In Oregon, better weather is helping the fight against the Bootleg Fire, where about 160 homes are destroyed.

Scientists say the nation’s largest blaze generated its own “fire tornado,” with winds up to 111 mph during the worst of the firefight in Oregon last week.