PORTLAND: Dry, unstable and windy conditions will fuel massive wildfires in southern Oregon, forecasters said, as largely uncontrolled fires grow for miles each day.
The Bootleg Fire was one of many wildfires burning across America west.
Crews had to flee the Oregon Blaze’s line of fire late Thursday after a dangerous “cloud of fire” collapsed, threatening them with strong downdrafts and flying embers. A preliminary review on Friday showed bootleg fires destroyed 67 homes and 117 outbuildings overnight in one county. Officials were still counting damages in a second county where the flames are rising up to 4 miles (6 kilometers) a day.
The fire has forced the evacuation of 2,000 people and threatened 5,000 buildings, including homes and small structures, in a rural area north of the California border, said fire spokeswoman Holly. Octopus said. Active flames are moving along 200 miles (322 kilometers) of the fire’s circumference, she said, and are expected to merge with a smaller, but equally explosive fire at night.
The bootleg fire is now 377 square miles (976 square kilometers) – larger than the area of New York City – and is mostly uncontrolled.
“We are going to continue the growth of the fire for miles and miles of active fire line,” Krack said. “We’re continuing to add thousands of acres a day, and it has the potential, every day, to continue doing those 3- to 4-mile runs, going forward over the weekend.”
A red flag weather warning was issued for the area from Saturday night.
Firefighters have stunned firefighters for a week with erratic winds and extremely dangerous fire behavior, including ominous fire clouds formed by extremely hot air that rises up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the blaze. grow.
“We’re expecting the same exact conditions to continue and worsen over the weekend,” Krack said of the fire-induced clouds.
The fire almost doubled in the early hours of the day and on Thursday, strong winds again pushed the flames fast. Gusts of 30 mph (48 kph) were expected on Friday.
It is burning an area north of the California border that is vulnerable to extreme drought, such as most of the American West.
Extremely dry conditions and heat waves associated with climate change have affected the region, making it difficult to fight wildfires. Climate change has made the West hotter and drier over the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
The flame was most active on its northeast shore, pushed by winds from the south toward the rural communities of Summer Lake and Spring Lake. Paisley was also in danger before the fire. All towns are in Lake County, a remote area of lakes and wildlife refuges with a total population of about 8,000.
The bootleg fire is one of at least a dozen major fires burning in Washington state, Oregon and California, as wildfire sieges hit the drought-stricken West. There were 70 active large fires and multiple fire complexes in the US, covering approximately 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers). National Interagency Fire Center said.
In the Pacific Northwest, firefighters said they were experiencing conditions similar to those in late summer or fall in early July.
In California, the Tamarack fires . In Humboldt-Toyabe National Forest By Saturday morning it had grown to about 10 square miles (25 square kilometers), leading to evacuations in the Markleyville area of Alpine County. The fire prompted the cancellation of Saturday’s “death ride”, a more than three 103-mile (165-kilometer) bicycle ride in the so-called California Alps Sierra Nevada The mountain passes.
The Bootleg Fire was one of many wildfires burning across America west.
Crews had to flee the Oregon Blaze’s line of fire late Thursday after a dangerous “cloud of fire” collapsed, threatening them with strong downdrafts and flying embers. A preliminary review on Friday showed bootleg fires destroyed 67 homes and 117 outbuildings overnight in one county. Officials were still counting damages in a second county where the flames are rising up to 4 miles (6 kilometers) a day.
The fire has forced the evacuation of 2,000 people and threatened 5,000 buildings, including homes and small structures, in a rural area north of the California border, said fire spokeswoman Holly. Octopus said. Active flames are moving along 200 miles (322 kilometers) of the fire’s circumference, she said, and are expected to merge with a smaller, but equally explosive fire at night.
The bootleg fire is now 377 square miles (976 square kilometers) – larger than the area of New York City – and is mostly uncontrolled.
“We are going to continue the growth of the fire for miles and miles of active fire line,” Krack said. “We’re continuing to add thousands of acres a day, and it has the potential, every day, to continue doing those 3- to 4-mile runs, going forward over the weekend.”
A red flag weather warning was issued for the area from Saturday night.
Firefighters have stunned firefighters for a week with erratic winds and extremely dangerous fire behavior, including ominous fire clouds formed by extremely hot air that rises up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the blaze. grow.
“We’re expecting the same exact conditions to continue and worsen over the weekend,” Krack said of the fire-induced clouds.
The fire almost doubled in the early hours of the day and on Thursday, strong winds again pushed the flames fast. Gusts of 30 mph (48 kph) were expected on Friday.
It is burning an area north of the California border that is vulnerable to extreme drought, such as most of the American West.
Extremely dry conditions and heat waves associated with climate change have affected the region, making it difficult to fight wildfires. Climate change has made the West hotter and drier over the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
The flame was most active on its northeast shore, pushed by winds from the south toward the rural communities of Summer Lake and Spring Lake. Paisley was also in danger before the fire. All towns are in Lake County, a remote area of lakes and wildlife refuges with a total population of about 8,000.
The bootleg fire is one of at least a dozen major fires burning in Washington state, Oregon and California, as wildfire sieges hit the drought-stricken West. There were 70 active large fires and multiple fire complexes in the US, covering approximately 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers). National Interagency Fire Center said.
In the Pacific Northwest, firefighters said they were experiencing conditions similar to those in late summer or fall in early July.
In California, the Tamarack fires . In Humboldt-Toyabe National Forest By Saturday morning it had grown to about 10 square miles (25 square kilometers), leading to evacuations in the Markleyville area of Alpine County. The fire prompted the cancellation of Saturday’s “death ride”, a more than three 103-mile (165-kilometer) bicycle ride in the so-called California Alps Sierra Nevada The mountain passes.
.