Fire officials said that by Friday morning, the Dixie Fire in California burned 223 square miles, destroyed at least 8 buildings, and threatened more than 1,500 buildings. As the fire continues to spread, by 2021, the fire has become the largest wildfire in the state to date.
According to the Associated Press, due to extreme dry conditions and heat waves caused by climate change, wildfires in the west have become more frequent, more destructive and harder to extinguish. As the Dixie fire spread eastward, a mandatory evacuation order in Plumas County, Sierra Nevada was issued on Thursday.
“This fire is sometimes faster than us,” incident commander Shannon Prather said Thursday night.
The California Forestry and Fire Department acquired 12 more firefighting aircraft and quickly sent 9 to the Dixie Fire Department. Gavin NewsonThe office announced on Thursday night. The addition of 12 aircraft allows Cal Fire to use more than 60 aircraft and helicopters.
For more reports from the Associated Press, please see below.
Nathan Howard/Associated Press Photo
The largest wildfire in the United States raged in southern Oregon on Friday, but staff are reducing some night work because hard work and weakened winds help reduce the spread of flames, even as wildfires continue to threaten houses in neighboring California.
Fire officials said Bootleg Fire burned about 70 houses, mainly small wooden houses, burned 40% of the area, and has destroyed half of Rhode Island.
During the fire, at least 2,000 families were ordered to evacuate and another 5,000 were threatened.
The upper eastern edge of the fire continued to move towards Xiahu, crossing the line of fire on Thursday, and prompting the evacuation order in parts of Lake County to be upgraded to “Go now!” fire officials said.
Fire Information Officer Angela Goldman said wind speeds of up to 10 mph (16 km/h) can drive flames through wood, but will not reach the exponential increase in wind-driven flames last week.
The fire caused by lightning, driven by strong winds and extremely dry weather, expanded by up to 4 miles (6 kilometers) per day.
There is good news in the lower part of the 625 square mile (1,619 square kilometer) fire. Fire Information Officer, the crew has locked down the containment line. On the lower southeast side, the crew can gain a substantial foothold, enabling them to reduce night patrols from the “24-7 run and gun” battle. La Gracie said.
“For us, this is a big improvement,” she said. “Working in the dark forest in the middle of the night is not so easy.”
On Friday, the authorities stated that they would closely monitor changes in wind conditions throughout the day.
“Fires continue to present us with challenges, and we will continue to be vigilant, work hard and adapt,” Joe Hessel, the incident commander of the Oregon Forestry Incident Management Team, said in a statement.
Gracie said that the side of the flame also burned to an area darkened by the previous fire, creating gaps in the fuel and reducing the spread of flames in grass, bushes and wood.
In California, the Tamarack fire south of Lake Tahoe burned more than 78 square miles (202 square kilometers) of national woodland timber and towering bushes. It broke out on July 4 and was one of two dozen fires caused by lightning strikes.
The fire in Gaoshan County has destroyed at least 10 buildings. Due to afternoon gusts and temperatures close to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), fire officials expect active or extreme fire behavior on Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, the embers in the flame lit a new ignition. The fire spread from the highway north of Topaz Lake on the California-Nevada line, prompting the Topaz Lake Estate and adjacent areas to issue new evacuation orders.
The fire was less than a mile from the estate of about 1,200 people in Douglas County, Nevada.
“In exceptionally bad weather and fuel conditions, firefighters on the ground and on airplanes continue to fight against growing numbers of places,” Humboldt-Toyaby National Forest said in the latest news.
It is estimated that the new fire has burned nearly 4 square miles (10 square kilometers).
Nathan Howard/Associated Press Photo
