The death occurred in Wisconsin, where 20 people were reported ill, 11 of them in Milwaukee. The outbreak has sickened others - eight of them seriously - in Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. In California, state health officials said they were investigating a possible case there.

The outbreak has affected a mix of ages, but most of the cases have involved women, Acheson said. Further information on the person who died wasn't available.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Wisconsin health officials alerted the FDA about the outbreak at midweek. Preliminary analysis suggested the same bug is responsible for the outbreak in all eight states.

The warning applied to consumers nationwide because of uncertainty over the origin of the tainted spinach and how widely it was distributed. Health officials did not know of any link to a specific growing region, grower, brand or supplier, Acheson said.

Amy Philpott, a spokeswoman for the United Fresh Produce Association, said that it's possible the cause of the outbreak won't be known for some time, even after its source is determined.

"Our industry is very concerned," she said. "We're taking this very seriously."

Reports of infections have been growing by the day, Acheson said. "We may be at the peak, we may not be," he said."

E. coli causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, although some people - including the very young and old - can develop a form of kidney failure that often leads to death.

Anyone who has gotten sick after eating raw packaged spinach should contact a doctor, officials said.

Other bagged vegetables, including prepackaged salads, apparently are not affected. In general, however, washing all bagged vegetables is recommended. Thorough cooking kills the bacterium.

"We're telling people if they have bagged produce and they feel like it's a risk, throw it out," Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman T.J. Bucholz said. "If they feel like they have to eat it, wash it first in warm water."

E. coli lives in the intestines of cattle and other animals and typically is linked to contamination by fecal material. It causes an estimated 73,000 cases of infection, including 61 deaths, each year in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sources of the bacterium include uncooked produce, raw milk, unpasteurized juice, contaminated water and meat, especially undercooked or raw hamburger, the agency says on its Web site.

In December 2005, an E. coli outbreak sickened at least eight children in Washington state. Officials traced the outbreak to unpasteurized milk from a dairy that had been ordered to stop distributing raw milk.

Last October, the FDA warned people not to eat certain Dole prepackaged salads that were connected to an outbreak of E. coli infections in Minnesota. At least 11 people were sickened.

In 1993, a major E. coli outbreak sickened about 700 people and killed four who ate undercooked Jack in the Box hamburgers in Washington state. That outbreak led to tighter Agriculture Department safety standards for meat and poultry producers.

Lane's maximum sustained winds were near 65 mph with higher gusts, an increase from late Thursday, the center said. It was still below the threshold of 74 mph for hurricane status, but further strengthening was forecast.

Earlier, Lane dumped rain and whipped up waves in Acapulco, where authorities closed the port to small boats Wednesday. Streets were covered in up to 16 inches of water - including the beachside Costera Miguel Aleman, which runs past many luxury hotels.

There was also some flooding at the Acapulco airport, although service was not interrupted.

At 5 a.m. EDT, Lane was centered about 110 miles west of Manzanillo and about 365 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas, the hurricane center said. It was moving northwest near 13 mph, with a gradual turn toward the northeast expected Friday.

On the current track, Lane is forecast to remain offshore, but only a slight turn to the right could bring its center very near Mexico's mainland coast within the warning and watch areas. It was not expected to hit the United States.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 105 miles from Lane's center.

A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning remained in effect for Baja California from Buena Vista southward along the east coast and from Agua Blanca southward along the west coast.

The government issued a tropical storm warning for Mexico's Pacific coast from El Roblito northward to La Cruz, and canceled the tropical storm warning along the coast from Punta San Telmo southward to Lazaro Cardenas. A tropical storm watch also was issued along the coast from La Cruz to Altata.

The storm was following the same path as Hurricane John, which raked Mexico's Pacific coast early this month before slamming into Baja California, killing five people.

Forecasters warned that Tropical Storm Lane could dump up to 10 inches, causing life-threatening mudslides and flooding.

"Some areas were totally evacuated because the water was so high," he said.

Gov. Mitch Daniels declared a state of emergency for Lake County.

The water rose so quickly Wednesday that some residents were trapped in their homes and officials had to use boats to evacuate students from an elementary school in Highland.

Flood warnings from the
National Weather Service remained in effect Thursday for the Little Calumet River and several small streams.

Several communities have declared a state of emergency, including Deer Lake, Sandy Lake, Keewaywin, Gull Lake and North Spirit Lake. A number of First Nations communities have asked residents to leave.

Officials from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources have expressed concern that smoke from the fires will have a negative impact on the evacuation centre in the municipality of Greenstone.

Hundreds of people from the evacuated communities have gone to Greenstone while others have gone to Thunder Bay, where they are staying in hotels.

More than 300 fires burning

More than 300 fires are burning in a swath of land north of Lake Superior between Thunder Bay-Atikokan and Nipigon. Many of the fires were started by lightning strikes. At least 13,000 hectares have been damaged.

Any quick improvement in the situation appears unlikely as the area has not received much rain and the forecast calls for little to none over the next few days.

"There are more fires burning than there are resources to fight them," Debbie MacLean, an information officer with Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, told the Canadian Press. MacLean is in Dryden, 350 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.

Fire crews have been struggling to keep pace because almost half of their crews were made up of students who have returned to school.

The fire situation has prompted provincial officials to restrict access on several roads in the Nipigon and Thunder Bay districts.