(AP) — Widespread drought across the West had forecasters expecting an above-average wildfire season this summer, which so far has not lived up to expectations. The Obama administration has proposed changing the way those fires are paid for, tapping Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster funds rather than taking from other programs within agency budgets, said Jim Douglas, director of the Department of Interior Office of Wildland Fire. [...] the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report warning climate change is contributing to longer and larger fire seasons, and efforts to protect new homes in forests are driving up firefighting costs and risks. Another series of thunderstorms across the region Tuesday and Wednesday produced rain and cooler temperatures that have helped fire crews increase containment of the fires. In northern Arizona, 300 people evacuated in the path of a fire that burned through 33 square miles, costing more than $10 million to fight. [...] weather has been making it tough for big fires to get going, said Ed Delgado, head of predictive services for the fire center.