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• In northern New Mexico, crews were making progress against a pair of fires burning in the Santa Fe National Forest. The blazes were threatening no communities, but they sent up plumes of smoke that sparked memories of last year's record-setting season.
• Firefighters were wrapping up a 227-acre wildfire in northern Colorado on Thursday, while extreme weather caused problems for crews trying to corral a 6,000-acre blaze in Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest.
• In Michigan, firefighters continued to secure lines and protect structures from a blaze that burned about 33 square miles. Nearly 50 homes, a motel, a store and

dozens of sheds and garages were destroyed.
• Besides property, Sherman said there's much at stake when it comes to how federal, state and local agencies prepare for and manage fire. He pointed to the need to protect watersheds, saying more than half of the drinking water in the U.S. comes from public and private forests.
• Sherman used the 2002 Hayman fire

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