1.  And local fire departments will be able to apply for federal grants to buy more engines, hoses and radios to improve firefighting efforts in remote areas.

2.  As Bill Brandau, operations section manager for the firefighting effort, addressed the fire crews Friday night, there was optimism, laced with reality.

3.  A swath of rain will dampen much of the Pacific Northwest, aiding firefighting efforts.

4.  Abandoned mineshafts around fires burning north of Helena, Mont., are hampering firefighting efforts there.

5.  But it was still considered a low-priority fire, said Jack Lee, the Forest Service commander of this firefighting effort.

6.  Deep puddles of water on muddy ground attested to the firefighting efforts after the strike.

7.  Firefighting efforts are complicated by the fact that this is some of the wildest and most rugged country in the West.

8.  Firefighting efforts continued in shifts around the clock.

9.  In response to the fires, Gov. Marc Racicot of Montana imposed a state of emergency on Wednesday and called up the National Guard to assist in firefighting efforts.

10.  Last year, they said, half of all federal firefighting efforts were spent protecting built-up areas on the fringe of forests and undeveloped lands.