I-Report: Smoke, flames rise from western wildfires

(CNN) -- The dog days of summer bring arid conditions and heat, creating conditions ripe for wildfires in some areas. With many fires cropping up in the West, I-Reporters have been photographing the flames in their area.

Bill Gould and his wife, Jeney Kingsbury, filmed a brush fire as they drove past a fire in Menifee, California, on Sunday. Gould put together a package in less than an hour on his computer at home and sent it in to CNN.

He said firefighters are doing a good job fighting the fire, and despite his proximity to it, he feels a lot safer due to to the large fire break keeping the fire at bay.

Katie Mettee was traveling Sunday along Interstate 90 when she encountered a wildfire outside of Missoula, Montana. She was on her way to relocating from Davenport, Iowa, to the Seattle, Washington, area.

Her mother, Pam Mettee, said ash fell on their windshield as they neared the fire, and they pulled over for about 15 minutes due to low visibility. There, they started shooting photos of the blaze and smoke.

Pam Mettee said she was most surprised by the heat of the blaze.

"The wind was blowing our way, so the heat was hitting us," she sa

id. "It was just unbelievable. ... I just don't know how how firefighters do it!"

Another I-Reporter got an up-close look at the fires in the area, which she said are roughly 20 miles from her home. Christina lives in Missoula and drove Saturday with her husband, Wally, to a frontage road outside Clinton, Montana, to capture photos of the fire across the way.

Smoke billowed from the flames as firefighters attacked from the ground and sky. Cindy Christina said the smoke was thick and she was amazed at the helicopter pilots' ability to see each other in the haze, since they were often flying quite close to each other. View photos of rising smoke, burning flames and hardworking helicopter pilots »

The fire is "very concerning" due to its location, she said. Through binoculars, the couple could see some homeowners hosing down their homes. The dry conditions and blowing wind are creating conditions for fire, Cindy Christina said.

"All it would take is someone to flick a cigarette off the road," she said.

Farther north, near Kamloops, British Columbia, Andrew Gurney captured video and photos of a fire less than a mile from his home. He filmed helicopters dipping for water to put out the fire and photographed the action on the hillside.

Watch I-Reporters' video of wildfires and firefighting efforts »

He said he saw at least two helicopters and four planes join the firefighting efforts. The geography teacher said dry conditions in the desert-like area have combined with pine beetle activity to contribute to the fire risk. E-mail to a friend

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