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FRESNO — After a week of battling high temperatures, gusty winds and lightning, firefighters caught a break when a storm system bringing higher humidity helped them tame wildfires throughout California.

California's largest blaze, in the Inyo National Forest, was in "mop-up mode" by Wednesday evening, and officials there were sending crews to assist elsewhere, said fire information officer Jim Wilkins.

Officials declared the 35,000-acre fire mostly under control, although the western flank continued burning in an area with little vegetation that's too treacherous for crews to access, Wilkins said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Inyo County on Wednesday to free up state resources for fighting the blaze and helping residents of Independence, whose water supply was contaminated by the fire.

The Inyo fire has injured 11 firefighters and destroyed six homes in the area north of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental U.S.

Near California's Central Coast, firefighters continued to cut lines Wednesday to corral a 10,400-acre blaze in Los Padres National Forest that was 37% contained, said fire information officer Tony Guzman.

There were also wildfires in 11 other Western states, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.

In Nevada, firefighters returned today to a 50-acre fire that was about 20% contained off State Route 160 in the Mountain Springs area, about 20 miles west of Las Vegas, a fire spokeswoman said.

No structures were threatened, no injuries were reported, and the highway remained open between Las Vegas and the Nye County community of Pahrump.

In western Nevada, heavy rain doused a handful of lightning fires around Reno, authorities said

Five of the nation's top-priority wildfires are in Utah, where crews are fighting the biggest fire in state history. By Wednesday, it had spread across 514 square miles. The fire, about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City, was 30% contained.

In Arizona, a fire that threatened buildings at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson was 50% contained Wednesday. It has charred 7,267 acres and was unlikely to threaten any buildings.

In Washington, authorities said they had 100% containment on two wildfires near Wenatchee, about 100 miles east of Seattle, and 90% containment on a wildfire farther north in Okanogan County.

Another round of record heat was forecast in the Northwest, adding to the problems faced by crews battling fires in Washington. High temperatures ranging up to 107 degrees were forecast for today and Friday in south-central Washington.

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