Wildfires force firefighters to pick their battles

With hundreds of wildfires raging across remote, rugged parts of California for a second week, fire officials have been forced to strategically choose which to fight and which to leave to burn for weeks or even months.

The number of fires burning in central and Northern California _ more than 1,000 according to state fire officials _ means authorities can't send firefighters to battle every blaze, Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said Monday.

"It's like eating an elephant _ you've got to eat it one bite at a time," he said.

It's also impossible to attack wildfires in some rugged, remote areas because the risk to …