Body found in burned area



Fire officials reported progress in battling California's fires.
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- Nearly 4,000 firefighters worked in blistering heat Saturday to corral a huge complex of fires in rugged wilderness and keep them from threatening desert and mountain communities.
"This is a very dangerous situation," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said after flying over the blazes.
A body was found about a mile away from the home of a man reported missing after a fire swept through the movie Western community of Pioneertown, officials said.
The San Bernardino County's coroner was investigating the death, National Park Service spokeswoman Jan Lemons said. No other details were immediately available.
A family member last heard from Jerry Guthrie, 57, when he called Tuesday and said the fire was close and he was preparing to evacuate, authorities said. His house was not destroyed, despite being surrounded by charred desert.
Fire officials reported some progress on the fires, which covered more than 110 square miles in Southern California about 100 miles east of Los Angeles.
A 59,000-acre fire was 40 percent contained, its eastern flank no longer a problem but its western side still a major concern. Ignited by lightning a week ago, it roared to life a few days later, destroying 56 desert homes.
Meanwhile, in southern Montana, firefighters mostly east of Billings were battling four large fires that charred tens of thousands of acres Friday evening.
In northern Minnesota, an 800-acre fire in a wilderness area was worrying authorities, who feared it could be fueled by millions of trees that blew down in a 1999 storm. Temperatures were near 100 in nearby Duluth.
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