Indonesia plans to use weather changing technology to try to unleash torrents of rain and extinguish raging fires on Sumatra island that have cloaked neighbouring Singapore in thick haze, an official said Wednesday. The city-state, which is home to 5.3 million inhabitants, has been pressing Jakarta to take action to put out the blazes, which have pushed air pollutant levels on the island to a 16-year high.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - A wildfire fueled by hot temperatures, gusty winds and thick, bone-dry forests has destroyed 92 homes, damaged five more and prompted more than 7,000 residents northeast of Colorado Springs to flee, sheriff's officials said Wednesday. A separate Colorado wildfire to the south has destroyed 20 structures, including some in Royal Gorge Bridge Wildfires also were burning in New Mexico, Oregon and California, where a smokejumper was killed fighting one of dozens of lightning-sparked fires.

By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cool winds and rain helped firefighters mop up the remains of a fast-burning California wildfire on Monday that had threatened 4,000 homes in an early start to an expected busy wildfire season. The Springs Fire, which started in the Southern California community of Camarillo and burned all the way to the Pacific Ocean, charred 28,000 acres and destroyed 10 outbuildings before a rainy weather system moved in over the weekend.

EDMONTON - With record temperatures in the forecast and tinder-dry brush and grass in many areas, Alberta's wildfire crews are on high alert. Despite a long, cold snowy winter, the fire threat is already listed as very high to extreme in central and northwestern parts of the province. On Monday, a large grass fire briefly shut down a portion of Highway 63 south of Boyle. Geoffrey Driscoll, a wildfire information officer, said the fire was in the county of Thorhild, and a helicopter had been sent out to assess the situation.