CAREFREE, Ariz. (AP) – Firefighters used roads, ridges and other natural barriers to make a stand Thursday against a wildfire that threatened multimillion-dollar houses near Phoenix. In California, firefighters gained ground against a blaze that burned several homes in the Mojave Desert.

The windblown Arizona blaze burned at least 30,000 acres and forced the evacuation of about 250 homes. About 300 firefighters battled the blaze, with help from aircraft dropping flame retardant.

Crews set backfires to burn up brush in the flames’ path, while using roads and natural barriers to direct the fire away from homes.

“We continue to make progress, but right now we continue to focus on keeping the fire out of the communities and protect the homes,” said Vinnie Picard, a spokesman for the fire crews.

Vincent Francia, the mayor of nearby Cave Creek, said two homes in the Tonto Hills area had been lost, along with 10 cabins in a summer community.

Eric Herrman briefly returned to his $1.5 million Tonto Hills home to retrieve documents and clothing. “It’s our dream home,” he said. “It took us five years to build.”

Herrman moved in with his in-laws in Scottsdale. “When planes started to come drop retardant on my neighbor’s deck, I thought it was time to leave,” he said.

Sheriff’s deputies escorted people to their homes to retrieve pets, but otherwise would not allow them into the evacuated area, about 20 miles northeast of Phoenix.

In California, a wildfire that burned 3,000 acres of desert brush was 30 percent contained early Thursday. Firefighters hoped to have it surrounded by Friday.

The fire destroyed six homes and threatened as many as 700 for a time Wednesday afternoon. The flames were moving into wilderness Thursday morning, but about 200 homes were still considered to be in danger.

Fire crews in Utah and Idaho continued battling lightning-caused fires Thursday, though no structures were threatened and no one had been displaced.

Most of the fires in Idaho started Tuesday when a storm with lightning moved through the south-central part of the state, igniting grass that has flourished this year because of an unseasonably wet spring.

“We’ve had a lot of rain this spring; that makes the grass grow high really quickly,” said Jessica Gardetto, a spokeswoman for the Boise Interagency Logistics Center.

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