NICHOLAS GERANIOS

Several large fires burning near the town of Chelan have scorched more than 155 square miles and destroyed an estimated 75 homes and businesses, officials said. Scores of homes remain threatened, and mandatory evacuation orders remained in effect for more than 2,900 people in the area.

From just across the Wenatchee River, Dominick Bonny watched a whole neighborhood in his central Washington town burn as a wildfire destroyed two dozen structures and forced hundreds to flee.

A 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after he reached into her purse at a northern Idaho Wal-Mart and her concealed gun fired, authorities said Tuesday.

Visitors to national parks in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Idaho spent $547 million and supported more than 9,000 jobs in 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Park Service.