Fires in Oregon, California grow as heat wave continues in parts of the West

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Dozens of wildfires raged across the western United States on Monday, with the National Weather Service warning that soaring temperatures in the northern plains could break records and that dry, windy conditions from Montana to California could complicate firefighting efforts.

Nearly 20,000 firefighters are working to contain 80 active large bushfires that have burned more than 1.1 million acres, the Interagency National Fire Center said. Most of these fires are burning in Montana, Idaho, California, and Oregon.

PG&E Corp told California regulators Sunday that one of its power lines may have been involved in setting fire to the Dixie Fire in California, which has grown to cover more than 30,000 acres. The company said in a regulatory filing that an employee who responded to the blackout discovered a fire under a distribution line in the Feather River Valley. The employee found two blown fuses and a tree contacting the wire.

State fire investigators collected some equipment from the line. PG&E said in a statement it was cooperating with the investigation and filed the regulatory filing “with extreme caution.”

The fire, which broke out last week in rural Bute County, has forced the evacuation of communities in the forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It burns northeast of Paradise, which was destroyed in 2018 by a fire lit by a PG&E transmission line. The fire, the deadliest in California history, killed 84 people.

Over the weekend, the Tamarack fire south of Lake Tahoe in Northern California quickly grew to more than 18,000 acres without containment, leading to evacuations of nearby towns and campgrounds. On Sunday, thick smoke in the area halted the use of firefighting planes, and officials warned residents with respiratory illnesses to avoid going outdoors.

In south central Oregon, the Bootleg Fire, currently the largest burn in the United States, exceeded 300,000 acres. The fire was 25% contained Monday as officials issued more evacuation warnings in Lake County, where the Bootleg Fire and nearby Lake District continued to burn. Officials said high winds of 30 to 35 miles per hour and low humidity could speed up the spread of the fire.

A car burns Saturday in the Markleeville area of ​​Alpine County, California, where the Tamarack Fire is burning. Photo: Noah Berger/The Associated Press

In recent days, state leaders have issued emergency orders to activate more resources to help fight the fires and the sweltering heat. A series of heat waves hit the region this summer, with record-breaking temperatures in the Pacific Northwest in June, killing more than 100 people. The persistent sweltering heat comes at a time when many Western countries are suffering from prolonged drought.

The National Weather Service said temperatures rose across the northern Rocky Mountains and High Plains this weekend, and are expected to continue further into the week.

The National Weather Service said eastern Montana could approach 110 on Monday, while the rest of the northern Plains region will see temperatures in the 90s. Excess heat warnings and guidelines were put in place across Montana on Monday.

The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings — which indicate hot, dry weather and gale-force winds that can accelerate the spread of wildfires — for Montana, Idaho, parts of Wyoming, Washington, Oregon and northern California. Thunderstorms without much rain may strike some of these areas, which means that lightning could ignite new fires that could spread quickly and easily.

Another heat wave is expected to engulf parts of the western United States as dozens of fires continue to burn in the region. WSJ’s Jennifer Calvas explains what this could mean for firefighting efforts. Photo: David Ryder/Reuters

Write to Jennifer Calfas at [email protected] and Kathryn Blunt at [email protected]

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