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Hundreds of evacuated residentsforced to flee a large centralWashingtonfire waited for word Thursday on when they might be able to return home.

Hundreds of people forced to flee a large centralWashingtonfire 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 workedwildfiresacross California.

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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.

The blaze was 25 percent contained Thursday morning, and fire management officers were working with local authorities to determine if some of the hundreds of evacuated residents could return home.

The fire started Monday at a bridge construction site. Officials have said at least 70 homes have burned. About 840 firefighters have been assigned to the fire.

Fire spokesman Mark Grassel said crews were strengthening lines at the fire's stubborn north flank where it has burned into thick stands of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir.

Laurie Plut said she doesn't feel out of danger yet. The fire has been right at the timber line for two days, just beyond the wood cabin she and her husband have been building over the past 12 years in a collection of 40 lots, all but five of them vacation cabins.

"We're still worried. It's extremely frustrating, but the firefighters have been working hard," she said by telephone. "And we have to love them."

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Washington residents wait for word as wildfire burns