Residents of the American state of Florida were pinning their hopes on a tropical storm this week to help more than 1,000 firefighters douse wildfires that have ravaged nearly 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in central and northern areas of the state.
A Caribbean storm expected to hit Florida in the middle of the week could slow the fires that have destroyed 160 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.
"The critical issue is how much [rain] and where," a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official said yesterday in the state capital, Tallahassee, stressing that the long-range forecast was for more high temperatures.
A mandatory evacuation order for the 40,000 residents of Flagler County, issued on Friday, was yesterday extended for another day after authorities decided conditions were still unsafe.
Some 2,000 fires are still blazing in the state, according to FEMA.
Nearly 2,000 fires have burned in Florida since Memorial Day weekend in late May, plaguing all 67 counties and burning 458,300 acres. State officials said 153 homes had been destroyed or damaged, putting losses at $276 million (£200 million).
Most of the 60 fires that broke out late Saturday in the north-central Gainsville area were caused by lightning strikes, which are expected to spark more blazes, although less catastrophic than last week's fires.
A national force composed of emergency officials from 11 states and Canada was set up to manage the crews and equipment rushed in from about 40 states. The crews are supplemented by heavy equipment such as pump engines, bulldozers, tractors and helicopters.
Although there have been no fire-related fatalities, one man in Flagler County died when he was transferred from a nursing home to an emergency shelter. More than 50 people have been injured since the fires broke out.