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BOISE, Idaho — Fire managers expressed optimism Sunday in their battle against a wildfire that has scorched nearly 160 square miles and forced the evacuation of 2,300 homes near the central Idaho resort communities of Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Officials said the blaze had grown by only about 12 square miles because of cloud cover the day before and the arrival of additional crews and equipment. Many firefighters worked Sunday to create firebreaks.

“Today they’re very optimistic that we will reinforce those lines in case the fire does flare up as we saw on Thursday and Friday,” fire spokeswoman Shawna Hartman said.

More than 1,200 people and 19 aircraft were battling the lightning-caused Beaver Creek Fire, which started Aug. 7 and was 9 percent contained. Nearly 90 fire engines also were in the region, many protecting homes in the affluent area where celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis own pricey getaways.

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Firefighters and others in Prescott have showed a resolve toward rebuilding an elite firefighting team that lost 19 of its members in a wildfire in late June near Yarnell.

But The Arizona Republic reports that questions about the cost, practicality and political challenges of rebuilding raise doubts about whether the Granite Mountain Hotshots will ever fight another fire.

Even if the funds were available, qualified staff wouldn't appear immediately, suggesting that recruiting a crew from the limited pool of experienced hotshots throughout the country would be difficult, said Dick Mangan, a retired U.S. Forest Service investigator who once supervised a federal hotshot crew in Oregon and later examined a Colorado fire that killed nine members of that same crew.

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This year's team included six permanent members and 14 seasonal workers. Families of the 13 seasonal workers who died were not eligible for some survivor benefits, including health care and pensions, a disparity that triggered public outcry. The city estimates it could cost more than $50 million to provide equivalent benefits for the 13. A state lawmaker has suggested a bill to help provide for those families.

In recent years, facing tightening budgets, city officials struggled with funding the crew. They froze two of the team's eight permanent positions and then eliminated those jobs last year.