Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.

Rice dismissed blustery comments from Russian leaders who say Warsaw's hosting of 10 U.S. interceptor missiles just 115 miles from Russia's westernmost frontier opens the country up to attack.

Such comments "border on the bizarre frankly," Rice said, speaking to reporters traveling with her in Warsaw.

"When you threaten Poland, you perhaps forget that it is not 1988," Rice said. "It's 2008 and the United States has a ... firm treaty guarantee to defend Poland's territory as if it was the territory of the United States. So it's probably not wise to throw these threats around."

The deal has strained relations between Moscow and the West, ties already troubled by Russia's invasion of its former Soviet neighbor, U.S. ally Georgia, earlier this month.

Speaking to reporters traveling with her, Rice said, "the Russians are losing their credibility."

Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski signed the deal Wednesday morning.

"It is an agreement which will help us to respond to the threats of the 21st century," she said afterward.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the agreement came after tough but friendly negotiations.

"We have achieved our main goals, which means that our country and the United States will be more secure," he said.

After Warsaw and Washington announced the agreement on the deal last week, top Russian Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn warned that Poland is risking attack, and possibly a nuclear one, by deploying the American missile defense system, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

Poles have been shaken by the threats, but NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop dismissed them Tuesday as "pathetic rhetoric."

"It is unhelpful and it leads nowhere," he told reporters at a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

Many Poles consider the agreement a form of protection at a time when Russia's invasion of Georgia has generated alarm throughout Eastern Europe. Poland is a member of the European Union and NATO, and the deal is expected to deepen its military partnership with Washington.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski also expressed "great satisfaction" at the outcome of the long months of negotiations.

Poland and the United States spent a year and a half negotiating, and talks recently had snagged on Poland's demands that the U.S. bolster Polish security with Patriot missiles in exchange for hosting the missile defense base.

Washington agreed to do so last week, as Poland invoked the Georgia conflict to strengthen its case.

The Patriots are meant to protect Poland from short-range missiles from neighbors — such as Russia.

The U.S. already has reached an agreement with the government in Prague to place the second component of the missile defense shield — a radar tracking system — in the Czech Republic, Poland's southwestern neighbor and another formerly communist country.

Approval is still needed the Czech and Polish parliaments.

No date has been set for the Polish parliament to consider the agreement, but it should face no difficulties in Warsaw, where it enjoys the support of the largest opposition party as well as the government.

Working through the challenge of darkness, rescue helicopters continued through Sunday night to evacuate hundreds of residents and campers stranded by the flooding caused by a breached dam near the Grand Canyon.

As of late Sunday night, officials had not reported any deaths or injuries, but they will press on today with their rescue mission as more rain is expected.

Tribal members boarded helicopters that flew to Hualapai Point, the Havasu Canyon trailhead. Once they reached the hilltop, they were taken either by bus or van to a Red Cross shelter in a small gymnasium at Peach Springs, about 60 miles southwest of Supai.

Red Cross officials expected nearly 70 evacuees to occupy the gym Sunday night.

Tribal officials reported that the flooding was foreshadowed by rising water levels at Havasu Creek about 10 p.m. Saturday, said Warren Youngman, assistant special agent in charge with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The information was relayed to them by the National Weather Service.

By midnight Saturday, Youngman said, the waters "looked bad." In the next few hours, heavy rains pounded the Redlands Dam south of Supai, causing a breach and waters to rise.

Youngman said an unknown number of bridges and three homes along the Havasu Creek were swept away by 3 a.m., but no injuries were reported. Evacuation orders were made official by 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

As rescue helicopters from several agencies flew people to safety, water levels continued to rise. By 9 a.m. Sunday, they had risen 8 feet above normal, which is "considerable," Youngman said.

Tourists were lined up in cars coming out of the 62-mile paved Route 18 that runs from Hualapai Hilltop to Route 66. There, people coming out of the canyon were giving their names and license-plate numbers, the last in a series of checkpoints to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Among those coming out were Paul Krogue, 29, and Jess Bernard, 26, both from Montana, who spent the entire night and most of the morning stranded on an inaccessible side of Havasu Creek above Mooney Falls.

"Everyone did a phenomenal job," Krogue said. "People came together and helped each other out. There were times there when we thought people were gonna die. We were definitely nervous for ourselves."

He said the entire area was destroyed.

The pair said they witnessed dead animals floating by and saw a group of nine campers stranded in trees nearby. At first light, the pair were able to help hang netting between the trees and their side of the creek so the campers stuck in trees could use a carabiner to get out of the trees and onto safe land.

Krogue and Bernard had to be airlifted in a basket hanging beneath the helicopter. From there, they were taken to another holding place, airlifted again to the village and finally out of the village.

Emily Gerlick, 23, of Phoenix, was with a group of five campers who were flown out early Sunday. She said she woke up around 2:30 a.m. to find water surrounding her tent at the popular Supai Campground, near the picturesque Mooney, Havasu and Navajo falls.

At 4:30 a.m., campers in the area were told they had 10 minutes to gather their belongings and return to Supai, where they were flown out in a Blackhawk helicopter.

The water in the canyon "was rushing and raging," Gerlick said. "It sounded like a freight train."

The helicopters flew Gerlick's party and other evacuees to Hualapai Hilltop, where visitors park their cars before hiking into the canyon.

Another camper, Kyle Jones, 24, from Las Vegas, said members of the tribe from Supai were instrumental in getting people safely out. They strung up rope that evacuees could hold on to as they made their way across the water.

"The campsite had become an island," Jones said.

As much as 8 inches of rain had fallen since Friday, causing trouble even before the dam burst. A private boating party of 16 people was stranded on a ledge at the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River on Saturday night, after floodwaters carried their rafts away, Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman Maureen Oltrogge said.

The boaters were found uninjured and were rescued.

Evacuees were taken to a Red Cross shelter in Peach Springs, Oltrogge said. The helicopters conducting the evacuations were from the National Park Service, the National Guard and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The neighboring Hualapai Tribe, the Red Cross, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office and the Mohave County Sheriff's Office also helped with the evacuations.

A man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters Wednesday and fatally shot the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase.

Police identified the suspect as Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, of Searcy, about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. They didn't know a motive. However, moments after the shooting, Johnson pointed a handgun at a worker at the nearby Arkansas Baptist headquarters. An official there said he told the worker, "I lost my job."

Chairman Bill Gwatney, 48, died four hours after the shooting. The former state senator and owner of three Little Rock-area General Motors dealerships had been planning to travel to the Democratic National Convention this month as a superdelegate. He had backed Hillary Rodham Clinton but endorsed Barack Obama after Clinton dropped out of the race.

Former President Clinton and Sen. Clinton issued a statement saying Gwatney was "not only a strong chairman of Arkansas' Democratic Party, but ... also a cherished friend and confidant."

Witnesses said the gunman entered the party offices about noon and said he wanted to see Gwatney.

"He said he was interested in volunteering, but that was obviously a lie," said party volunteer Sam Higginbotham, 17. He said that when the suspect was refused a meeting with Gwatney, he pushed past employees to reach the chairman's office.

Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings said the suspect and Gwatney introduced themselves to each another, at which time the suspect "pulled out a handgun and shot Gwatney several times."

Police said that after leaving the office, the suspect pointed a gun at a worker at the Baptist headquarters seven blocks away. When asked what was wrong, the man said "I lost my job," according to Dan Jordan, the group's business manager.

After the suspect avoided spike strips and a roadblock along Highway 167 near Sheridan, police rammed his car, spinning it, said Grant County Sheriff Lance Huey. The man got out of his truck and began shooting, and State Police and sheriff's deputies fired back, striking him several times, Huey said.

Hastings said investigators found at least two handguns in the suspect's truck.

Little Rock police said they could find no criminal record for Johnson.

The state Capitol was locked down for about an hour until police got word that the gunman had been captured, said Arkansas State Capitol police Sgt. Charlie Brice.

Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat who served with Gwatney in the state Senate, joined an impromptu vigil at University Hospital after what he called a "shocking and senseless attack." Gwatney was Beebe's finance chairman during the governor's 2006 campaign.

"Arkansas has lost a great son, and I have lost a great friend. There is deep pain in Arkansas tonight because of the sheer number of people who knew, respected and loved Bill Gwatney," Beebe said.

Sarah Lee, a salesclerk at a flower shop across the street from the party headquarters, said that around noon Gwatney's secretary ran into the shop and asked someone to call 911.

Lee said the secretary told her the man had come into the party's office and asked to speak with Gwatney. When the secretary said she wouldn't allow him to meet with Gwatney, the man went into his office and shot him, Lee said.

Gwatney is survived by his wife, Rebecca; two daughters from a prior marriage, Christian and Chase; and two stepchildren, Zachary and Emily.

California fire authorities Sunday ordered the evacuation of regions to the west of Yosemite National Park as a wildfire spread uncontrolled, burning buildings and threatening some 2,000 homes.

"Right now the fire is dictating to us what we can do," said emergency official Bill Hodson Sunday as fire fighters mobilized in the rugged forest and scrubland of the Sierra Nevada foothills in Mariposa county.

According to the state fire bureau CalFire, the blaze has caused "significant structure loss," but details on the damage and the number of buildings affected could not be collected due to the intensity of the fire.

The fire was burning north and northeast of Mariposa city, and was about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the entrance to Yosemite, which is usually jammed with visitors on summer holidays at this time of year.

No injuries had been reported by midday Sunday, as the fire grew to cover some 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) in the area.

While a number of campgrounds west of the park had been closed, roads going into Yosemite were still open, according to CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

Berlant told Fox News that 2,000 firefighters with 200 fire engines, 12 air tankers and 12 helicopters were battling the blaze.

"Across the state in California it is extremely dry and these are conditions we really haven't seen in decades. Specifically, where this fire is burning we have not seen a fire burn in the past 100 years," Berlant said.

Firefighters braced for northeast winds – forecast for Friday morning – that are similar to winds that caused the blaze to flare up Monday night and destroy about 50 homes and 10 outbuildings.

We are hoping to get things under control to be ready for that wind change, said Tobie Edmonds, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite Paradise, where last month a separate wildfire destroyed 74 homes.

They are monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank and reach the town, Edmonds said.

The blaze is one of about 40 lightning-sparked wildfires that over the past two weeks have charred more than 76 square miles in Butte County. By Thursday, there were about 15 active fires.

In Concow, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, firefighters cleared and intentionally burned brush to keep the flames away from houses.

Animal control officers rounded up dogs, cats, horses and other animals left behind when owners hastily evacuated earlier this week.

Evacuations orders remained in place, but some Concow residents were allowed to check on their homes Thursday.

I think my place is gone, said Rachael Davidson, 37, as she made her way to her home. When we left, there were flames all around.

Wildfires across California have burned nearly 1,100 square miles and has destroyed about 100 homes since a lightning storm ignited most of them more than two weeks ago. Some 1,460 fires had been contained by Thursday, but more than 320 still were active, authorities said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter to President Bush asking for more equipment and personnel to help build fire lines and train California National Guard troops deployed to assist firefighting efforts, his office said.

California is in the midst of battling unprecedented wildfires that have stretched our state's firefighting resources to their limit and placed thousands of Californians in immediate danger, Schwarzenegger said in the letter.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request. A 53-square mile fire east of Bakersfield, which was 28 percent contained Thursday and not threatening any homes.

Firefighters also were struggling against a sudden drop in humidity and a 10-degree spike in temperature as a heat wave forecast to linger until the weekend grips much of the state.

"Right now we're battling the weather and the erratic winds," said Todd Simmons, a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman. "Whatever the winds are doing, that's pretty much what the fire's going to do."

Residents of 3,200 homes in Paradise were ordered to evacuate Tuesday after fire destroyed 40 houses in the neighboring rural community of Concow. Evacuation orders also remained in place for 800 to 1,000 residents from Concow and Yankee Hill, about 85 miles north of Sacramento.

About 30 lightning-sparked wildfires in Butte County, where Paradise and Concow are located, have charred 47,000 acres in recent weeks and was about 40 percent contained, officials said.

Among those evacuated Tuesday were 95 children at a camp for kids with cancer, 70 miles north of Sacramento.

"They've been remarkably good," Michael Amylon, the camp's medical director, said of the children. "We always talk about fire being a danger."

Fire crews across the state have been trying to cover hundreds of active California wildfires, many of which were ignited by a lightning storm more than two weeks ago. Some 1,450 fires had been contained late Tuesday, but more than 320 were still active, authorities said.

At a fire east of Bakersfield on Tuesday, wind gusts caused flames to jump fire lines and destroy or damage five residences and four more outbuildings in the Sequoia National Forest.

A blaze threatening the small coastal community of Big Sur let up just enough to allow hundreds of people to check on their homes Tuesday. Authorities announced that more residents would be allowed to return Wednesday morning.

At least 23 homes and 25 other structures have been destroyed in Big Sur as flames marched over more than 125 square miles of land since June 21.

Although that fire is far from controlled — the rugged terrain has kept containment at 23 percent into the fire's third week — authorities lifted the mandatory evacuation order issued for 25 miles of the 31-mile stretch along the Pacific Coast Highway that had been closed.

Many of the 1,500 evacuated residents of Big Sur headed home Tuesday morning through smoke and ash, anxious to gauge the damage. Officials, however, cautioned that the lifted evacuation orders did not mean conditions had drastically improved.

A wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest near Santa Barbara grew slightly to 9,785 acres, or about 15 square miles, but the number of homes threatened dropped sharply Tuesday as crews secured fire lines near populated areas.

The blaze continues to threaten about 250 homes, down from a peak of more than 3,000. The fire is 55 percent contained, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Debbie Becker.

"It's going according to plan," Becker said "They've really got a good hold on this fire but there's still a lot of potential to get worse."

The expected heat wave raised not only the fire danger, but also concerns about heat illness among firefighters worn down by the long fight against blazes that have consumed more than 985 square miles in California since late June.

"We do have a lot of fatigue because of the low numbers of resources in the state," said Thom Walsh, a Forest Service resource unit leader.

Crews took rest breaks in refrigerated trailers with bunk beds before returning to the field, but heat stroke was a worry, Walsh said.

Highs are likely to be in the triple digits across much of the northern half of the state until at least Friday, National Weather Service forecaster Christine Riley said.

Temperature records for the date were broken in five cities Tuesday. Among them were Sacramento, where the temperature reached 108, breaking the previous high of 104 degrees set in 1997. Stockton recorded 105 and Modesto 107, both breaking records for July 8 set in 2006.

Despite the soaring temperatures, California's power grid was able to handle the energy demand, said Kristina Osborn, a spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator, the agency that monitors the state's power grid.

Smoke from the wildfires could help keep temperatures a few degrees lower in some areas, even as it increases health risks. At night, the smoke acts like a blanket, holding in the heat, said National Weather Service forecaster George Cline.

State agencies were prepared to open cooling centers if needed. Officials also were checking regularly for heat problems at hospitals and centers serving the elderly and those with disabilities.