Dangerous conditions complicate fighting wildfires in the western United States

[ad_1]

LONDON, Oregon (AP) – Intermittent winds and dry lightning added to the dangers for crews fighting the nation’s largest wildfire Monday in arid Oregon forests, just one of dozens burning in several western states.

The devastating Bootleg Fire, one of the largest in recent Oregon history, has already burned more than 476 square miles (1,210 square kilometers), an area roughly the size of Los Angeles. The fire north of the California state line was contained 25%.

Forecasters forecast very serious fires until at least Monday, with lightning likely in both California and southern Oregon.

“With fuel so dry, any thunderstorm has the potential to start a new fire,” the National Weather Service in Sacramento, California, said on Twitter.

Thousands were ordered to evacuate, including about 2,000 people living in the rugged terrain among lakes and wildlife refuges near the fire, which has burned at least 67 homes and 100 outbuildings while threatening many more.

Climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and increase the frequency and destruction of wildfires. Firefighters said these conditions in July are more common in late summer or fall.

Pyrocumulus clouds — which literally translate as “fire clouds” — complicated containment efforts Sunday for the Dixie Fire in Northern California, as the flames spread to remote areas not easily accessible to crews of steep terrain, officials said. New evacuation orders have been issued in rural communities near Feather River Canyon.

The Dixie Fire remained at 15% and covered 29 square miles (74 square kilometers). The fire is located northeast of the California town of Paradise, and the survivors of that horrific fire that killed 85 people watched the fire burning with caution.

Growing wildfires south of Lake Tahoe have jumped onto a highway, prompting more evacuation orders, closing the Pacific Crest Trail and canceling extreme bike rides through the Sierra Nevada.

The Tamarack Fire, which was triggered by lightning on July 4, had burned about 28.5 square miles (74 square kilometers) of dry brush and timber as of Sunday night. The fire was threatening the small town of Markleville, near the California-Nevada state line. Authorities said they destroyed at least two buildings.

Several communities in the area have been evacuated and all cyclists have been ordered to evacuate the area, a notice posted Saturday on the 103-mile (165 kilometer) Death Ride website said. The fire left thousands of cyclists and spectators stranded in the small town as they raced to get out.

Kelly Bennington and her family were camping near town on Friday so her husband could take part in his ninth flight when they were asked to leave. They had watched smoke rise throughout the day, but were surprised by the rapid spread of the fire.

“It happened very quickly,” Bennington said. “We left our tents, a hammock and some food, but got most of our things, pushed our two children into the car and left.”

About 800 firefighters were tasked with fighting the flames by Sunday night, “with a focus on preserving life and property by protecting points of structures and putting in place containment lines where possible,” the US Forest Service said.

A fire in the mountains of northeastern Oregon had grown to more than 18 square miles (48 square kilometers) by Sunday. The Elbow Creek Fire that started Thursday has led to evacuations in several remote small communities around the Grand Ronde River about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Walla Walla, Washington. It was 10% contained.

Officials said the area’s natural features act as a wind suppression that feeds the fires and makes them unpredictable.

The National Interagency Fire Center said about 70 major fires and a complex of multiple fires have burned approximately 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers) in the United States. The US Forest Service said at least 16 major fires were burning in the Pacific Northwest alone.

.

[ad_2]