NATION BRIEFS

MONTANA/Bear kills 1, injures 2 campers

At least one bear rampaged through a heavily occupied campground Wednesday near Yellowstone National Park in the middle of the night, killing one person and injuring two others during a terrifying attack that forced people to hide in their cars as an animal tore through tents. Authorities said three separate attacks left a male dead and a woman and another male injured at the Soda Butte campground. The woman suffered severe lacerations and crushed bones from bites on her arms, and the surviving male was bitten on his calf. Wildlife officials did not release the names or ages of the victims. Both survivors were hospitalized in Cody, Wyo. The victims were in three different tents, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Capt. Sam Sheppard. Campers throughout the site had their food in storage boxes, Sheppard said. "They were doing things right," Sheppard said. "It was random."

CALIFORNIA/Fighting to contain wildfires

Hundreds of firefighters gained ground Wednesday against the most destructive of two big wildfires that have burned homes and forced 2,300 people to evacuate mountain communities on the edge of the Mojave Desert and in the southern Sierra Nevada. A 1,400- acre blaze that chased residents from the Old West Ranch community about 10 miles south of Tehachapi was 25 percent contained. The firefighting command revised the number of destroyed structures down to 25, and Kern County Fire Department Battalion Chief Dean Boller said most were homes. Fire officials initially estimated 30 to 40 homes were lost. Officials were investigating what caused the fires. The fire in Old West Ranch broke out Tuesday.

ARIZONA/Medical helicopter crash kills 3

Authorities say all three people aboard a medical helicopter that crashed on a Tucson street have died. The Colorado-based company that operates the helicopter says the pilot, flight nurse and paramedic were killed in the 1:45 p.m. crash Wednesday. Air Methods says the names of the victims won't be released until Thursday at the earliest. Federal Aviation Administration officials say the helicopter was traveling from Marana to Douglas when it crashed but wasn't transporting a patient at the time. The FAA says the helicopter was in contact with air traffic controllers before the accident and there was no indication of trouble. Witnesses told The Arizona Daily Star that the helicopter crashed into a fence in front of a house after the pilot steered away from the residence.