On Saturday, out-of-state workers went to Montana to extinguish a fire that injured five firefighters, while the western region was fighting a series of fires that destroyed rural land and destroyed houses.
Fire officials said that the largest fire in the United States, the piracy fire in Oregon, is making progress, but an additional mandatory evacuation was ordered Friday night and less than half of the fires have been brought under control. The authorities said that the spread of the fire has slowed down, but it is expected that Saturday fire activity will increase, and thousands of houses on its east side are still threatened.
In California, Governor Gavin Newson declared a state of emergency in four northern counties on Friday because he said wildfires are creating “a situation that poses an extreme danger to the safety of people and property.” The announcement paved the way for more national support.
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On Saturday, firefighters from California and Utah will come to Montana, Governor Greg Gianford announced. On Thursday, five firefighters were injured when they were handling the Devil Creek fire in the rugged and steep terrain near rural Jordan when the cyclone blew the flames back on them.
They are still hospitalized on Friday. Mark Jacobson, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management, declined to disclose the extent of their injuries. The firefighters included three U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff from North Dakota and two U.S. Forest Service firefighters from New Mexico.
In California, the Tamarak fire south of Lake Tahoe continued to burn timber and jungle, and threatened communities on both sides of the California and Nevada interstate. The fire caused by lightning in Alps County on July 4 has destroyed at least 10 buildings.
In Butte County, California, the Dixie fire continued to burn in rugged and remote terrain. As the fire spread eastward, firefighters could not control the fire and became the largest wildfire in the state so far this year.
The heavy smoke from the two fires reduced visibility, and sometimes ground planes may provide support for ground firefighters. The air quality entering Nevada south of Lake Tahoe and the interstate line has deteriorated to a very unhealthy level.
In north-central Washington, firefighters fought two fires in Okanagan County, which threatened hundreds of homes and once again caused dangerous air quality conditions on Saturday. In northern Idaho, east of Spokane, Washington, a small fire near the Silverwood theme park prompted evacuations in the park and surrounding areas Friday night. On Saturday, the theme park reopened and the fire was half controlled.
Although the hot weather brought by strong winds in the afternoon continues to threaten the spread of the fire, weekend forecasts also indicate the possibility of sporadic thunderstorms in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and other states. However, forecasters said that some may be dry thunderstorms, with little rainfall but a lot of lightning, which may trigger new fires.
More than 85 large wildfires burned across the country, most of which occurred in western states, burning more than 553,000 hectares of land.
© 2021 Canadian Press
