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Officials are warning more Oregon residents to prepare to evacuate as the Bootleg Fire scorches more than 300,000 acres, with a national fire official warning it could take a major weather event to subdue the flames.
There are currently 80 large wildfires raging in 13 states across the US, burning more than 1.1 million acres, mostly in western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Montana has reported the most large wildfires with 18, and Idaho is close behind with 17, the NIFC said.
But the biggest fire is the Bootleg, which has been burning in the Fremont-Winema National Forest along the Oregon and California border since July 6. As of Monday morning, the fire has burned 303,791 acres with a containment of 25%, according to data from InciWeb, the US clearinghouse for wildfire information.
Hot temperatures have been making the blaze harder to tackle. "Weather's really against us. It's going to be hot, it's going to be dry and air's going to be unstable which helps the heat raise faster, which brings in more air. All things that are negative for firefighters and positive for fire. So it's going to be a real battle today," Operations Section Chief John Flannigan said during his Sunday morning briefing.
