Over 14,000 firefighters are currently battling more than 60 huge wildfires raging in the rural regions of western US, the latest update by InciWeb, an interstate incident information system, said, adding that the conditions are likely to worsen due to bad weather.
The Bootleg Fire in Klamath county, Oregon, is currently the nation’s largest wildfire, spreading to 212,377 acres, Xinhua news agency reported citing the InciWeb update as saying on Wednesday.
It warned that the fire would continue to be extremely active with unstable air conditions and extremely dry fuels in the coming days.
It was difficult for the 1,338 firefighters on the front lines to surpass the flame, InciWeb’s report said.
“Fire remains very active with significant acreage increases due to hot, dry, and breezy conditions. Poor humidity recovery at night is contributing to active fire spread through the night time period.”
In Northern California, the Beckwourth Complex Wildfire, currently the largest fire in the state, scorched 95,358 acres with 71 per cent containment as of Wednesday, InciWeb reported.
“Dry conditions continue with relative humidity lowering into the single digits in many areas,” the report noted, adding that wind had increased since Tuesday night.
In the Sierra Nevada region of the ‘Golden State’, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said on Wednesday that River Fire raging near Yosemite National Park had covered 9,500 acres and is 15 percent contained.
Due to the blaze, Madera County has declared a state of emergency.
“The extreme heat and winds have proven to be challenging for not only fire personnel, but those working to support those efforts,” Sheriff Tyson Pogue told local ABC7 news channel.
“This proclamation will provide much needed resources to support our community.”
Another aggressive wildfire is the Dixie Fire in Butte County, which was ignited around 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
By 8 a.m. Wednesday, it had grown to 500 acres and was 0 per cent contained, and then by noon, it had more than doubled in size to 1,200 acres.
The Dixie Fire is not far from the site of 2018’s devastating Camp Fire, which killed at least 85 people and reduced the town of Paradise to ashes.
On Wednesday, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation warnings for Pulga and East Concow.
Both towns suffered substantial damage in the 2018 fire.
According to Cal Fire, 4,991 wildfires have occurred in the state and burned down 142,477 acres of land this year.