YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of people forced to flee a large central Washington fire waited for word Thursday on when they might be able to return, while firefighters in rural Idaho protected two threatened towns and thousands of crew members worked wildfires across California.

The Taylor Bridge Fire about 75 miles east of Seattle has burned across an estimated 22,000 acres, roughly 35 square miles, of diverse terrain, ranging from dry grasses to sagebrush and thick timber.