Region Archives: US West

The vast majority of Oregon was at high or extreme wildfire risk heading into the year’s hottest month as the state nears a modern record for the most acres burned in a season. The National Interagency Fire Center classified every part of Oregon, except the northwest, at elevated risk for wildfire in August and September in its latest forecast. State climatologist Larry O’Neill said the only part of Oregon at normal fire danger was the Coast Range and Oregon Coast. “That’s the one part of the state that’s close to normal, but besides that, we’re basically holding on for dear life everywhere else in Oregon,” he said. “We’re not really expecting any significant rain until about mid-September, so the hope is that things just stay stable.” By stable, O’Neill said he was hoping for no more significant lightning storms that bring new fires, no major human-caused fires and especially no east winds.

OREGON — More than a million acres have burned so far in Oregon’s wildfire season. As August gets underway, here’s an overview of some active blazes. Firefighters are seeing some success in Eastern Oregon. The Durkee Fire, which at one point in July was the largest wildfire in the country and even created its own weather, was 86% contained as of Monday morning. The lightning-caused wildfire has burned nearly 295,000 acres. Crews expect the fire to reach full containment on Thursday. …While growth of the Durkee Fire has slowed, Eastern Oregon could see concerning conditions over the next few weeks. The Eastern Oregonian reports officials are worried about the possibility of more simultaneous large fires in August and September — and the potential for firefighter burnout and exhaustion.

Dozens of wildfires in Central, Southern and Eastern Oregon continue to burn this week, leaving firefighting resources “stretched thin.” Resources are being shared in fighting the 27 lightning strike fires burning in Umpqua National Forest, known as the Diamond Complex, and the Middle Fork Fire in Crater Lake National Park. As of Monday morning, a total of 513 crew members were assigned to the 6,315 acres burning in the Diamond Complex, and just 30 personnel working on 1,938-acre blaze in Crater Lake National Park. On Monday, Operations Section Chief Phil Knaub said fire activity was low over the weekend with precipitation providing some relief. Knaub is with Team 3 Montana-based Northern Rockies Incident Management which took over command of the Diamond Complex and Middle Fork Monday morning.

ASOTIN COUNTY, Washington – The Cougar Creek Fire, located approximately 23 miles southwest of Asotin near Highway 129, continues to challenge firefighting teams as they battle the blaze across rugged terrain and a varied landscape of timber, grass, and brush. The fire has been burning since July 15. As of Monday morning, August 5, the fire was estimated at 20,712 acres in size. Officials say the blaze is still 35% contained. The National Interagency Fire Center says 4 structures have been lost in the fire. Recent precipitation and cooler temperatures moderated fire activity, allowing firefighters to begin constructing an indirect fireline north from Saddle Butte. …The American Red Cross has opened an emergency evacuation center at the Asotin County Fairgrounds on Asotin-Anatone Highway in Asotin, WA.

CALIFORNIA — The Park Fire grew marginally over the weekend as containment on the fourth-largest wildfire in state history continued to grow slowly. As of Monday morning, the fire has burned 401,740 acres, about a 500-acre increase from Saturday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The fire is 34% contained. …Officials expect the area to experience more warming and dry conditions this week with daytime highs reaching the lower 100s and the relative humidity ranging from a 10% to 20%. The number of structures destroyed by the fire went up over the weekend to 640 as of Monday morning. Damage inspection teams have completed their assessments, Cal Fire said. …Evacuation warnings have been lifted in several zones in Shasta County, while officials downgraded evacuation orders in some zones to warnings, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The Alexander Mountain Fire burning near Drake in Larimer County remained at 7,648 acres in size as command of the fire was transferred to another fire agency by Thursday morning. The Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1 is now in command of the wildfire, which remained at 1% containment in the early hours of Thursday as 450 crews continued to work around the fire overnight. A news conference where officials will provide an update on the fire is expected to happen at 4 p.m. Mandatory evacuation orders were still in place for Dunraven Glade, along County Road 43, including Steamside Drive and Dunraven Glade Road. The mandatory evacuation area extends north past Miller Fork Road and Dunraven Trailhead, according to a NoCo Alert.

A person has been killed in one of several wildfires threatening heavily populated areas of the Colorado foothills, authorities said on Wednesday. A body was discovered in a home about 1 mile north of Lyons, Colorado, according to the Boulder county sheriff. He said that detectives were assisting the investigation into the death, but declined to provide further details. There are nearly 100 active wildfires burning in the west, including a massive wildfire in California that has grown swiftly in recent days to become the fifth-largest in state history. In Colorado, a wildfire near the city of Loveland in the Rockies grew to more than 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) on Tuesday evening as more homes were placed under mandatory evacuation orders and a looming column of smoke could be seen for miles around.The fatality is one of several reported in recent weeks as the US wildfire season kicked into high gear.

COLORADO — All evacuations remained in place Tuesday morning as the Alexander Mountain Fire continued burning west of Loveland. Crews were on the scene of the fire overnight Monday with air operations and “additional ground resources” expected to resume Tuesday morning, the Loveland County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. The United States Forest Service is expected to assume command of the fire control efforts Tuesday, according to Inciweb, an incident command website that tracks wildfires across the nation. The fire, which had grown to estimated 950 acres with no containment as of 7:45 p.m. Monday, was first reported in a 911 call received at 10:39 a.m., LCSO spokesperson David Moore said Monday.

Additional coverage in the Colorado Sun by Olivia Prentzel: Northern Colorado residents told to immediately evacuate as fast-moving wildfire burns near Loveland

CALIFORNIA – Thousands of firefighters battling a massive northern California wildfire were working in milder temperatures and higher humidity Monday, but the blaze that has destroyed more than 100 structures since it began five days ago continues to grow. The Park Fire, which officials said was started by a man who pushed a flaming car into a gully, grew slightly overnight to 368,000 acres (148,924 hectares). The sixth largest wildfire in state history is rolling through a remote area some 180 miles northeast of San Francisco, according to Cal Fire. Crews were “still in for quite a firefight, just because (of) the sheer magnitude and the sheer size of the fire,” said Dan Collins, a Cal Fire captain. …Some 4,800 firefighters were building and strengthening control lines on Monday morning hoping to increase the 12% they had contained. 

FOREST RANCH, California — Wildfires across the western United States and Canada put millions of people under air quality alerts on Sunday as thousands of firefighters battled the flames, including the largest wildfire in California this year. The so-called Park Fire had scorched an area greater than the size of Los Angeles as of Sunday, darkening the sky with smoke and haze and contributing to poor air quality in a large swath of the northwestern U.S. and western Canada. …Paradise and several other Butte County communities were under an evacuation warning Sunday.
…By Sunday afternoon, the fire continued to grow west, with flames crossing Highway 32 near Butte Meadows.  …In Southern California, a fire in the Sequoia National Forest swept through the community of Havilah after burning more than 48 square miles in less than three days. The town of roughly 250 people had been under an evacuation order. Fires were also burning across eastern Oregon and eastern Idaho.

Thousands of firefighters battling a wildfire in northern California received some help from the weather Saturday morning, just hours after the blaze exploded in size, sending massive, swirling plumes skyward and scorching an area about the size of Los Angeles. The blaze was one of several tearing through the western United States and Canada, fueled by wind and heat. Cooler temperatures and an increase in humidity on Saturday could help slow the Park fire, the largest blaze so far this year in California, after its intensity and dramatic spread led fire officials to make unwelcome comparisons to the monstrous Camp fire. That fire burned out of control in nearby Paradise in 2018, killing 85 people and torching 11,000 homes. Weather conditions are easing up, but that may or may not have an impact on the fires, said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

BAKER COUNTY, Ore. — On Saturday, wildfires continued to burn across the United States, with the majority concentrated in Oregon, and the largest still the Durkee Fire. Officials say it’s near 290,000 acres in size, with a perimeter of 169 miles. However, crews have made progress, and by Sunday it was 50% contained. At the northwest corner of the megafires footprint, local landowners and ranchers are still dealing with the worst of it. Fire officials say this area remains a concern due to heavy winds and drier conditions at high elevation and a shift to a timber fuel type, as compared to the Durkee Fire’s predominant fuels to date: grass, shrubs and juniper. …On day 10 of the megafire, nearly 600 firefighters were working on suppression, confident they’ll soon contain the fire along Interstate 84. …Oregon has reached a total of 1,017,474 acres burned, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. 

There are more than 38 large wildfires burning across Oregon. Here’s the latest notes and details about the blazes. Hopes for a decent amount of rain are looking increasingly unlikely in the areas that need it most to quell fires, forecasters said Sunday. …The U.S. Forest Service has approved the use of heavy equipment and fire retardant to fight wildfires burning in Pacific Northwest wilderness and roadless areas. The Congressionally-designated areas typically are supposed to see fire crews take a lighter touch — using minimum suppression tactics or even letting fires burn in some cases. But the number of fires — and long duration left in the fire season — has spurred leaders to approve more aggressive tactics. …Heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, however, can drastically impact sensitive areas and fire retardant can pollute waterways. Forest leaders said they would be careful “where and when to allow the use of heavy equipment and retardant,” the agency said.

A burning car pushed into a gully sparked California’s largest wildfire of the year, authorities said Thursday as they announced the arrest of a suspect. Meanwhile other blazes scorched the Pacific Northwest. Flames from the fire the man is accused of starting exploded into what is now the Park Fire, which has burned more than 195 square miles (505 square km) near the city of Chico. Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties, with the blaze only 3% contained by Thursday evening. California authorities did not immediately name the man they arrested. Also in California near the Nevada line, about 1,000 people remained displaced from their homes Thursday after evacuations were ordered Monday night when lightning sparked the Gold Complex fires that have burned more than 4 square miles (10 square km) of brush and timber in the Plumas National Forest about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Reno, Forest Service spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said.

As wildfires continue to burn across Oregon, extreme weather is forecast for Eastern Oregon. According to the Oregon State Fire Marshal, the weather is forecast to be most extreme Wednesday afternoon and evening, with a red flag, excessive heat and flash flood warnings in place. The area is also forecast to see lightning, winds that could reach 60 mph and high temperatures. “We are working with every tool we have to protect people and property,” Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in a press release on Wednesday. “The Oregon structural fire service, our out-of-state firefighters, and our wildland partners are working relentlessly around the clock. I want to say thank you. This is a monumental challenge that every firefighter and support staff is rising to.” Here’s the latest on wildfires burning across Oregon.