Wildfires blasting through West draw states to lend support
BLY, Ore. (AP) - Out-of-state crews headed to Montana Saturday to battle a blaze that injured five firefighters as the West struggled with a series of fires that have ravaged rural lands and destroyed homes.
Progress was being made on the nation's largest blaze, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, but less than half of it had been contained, fire officials said. The growth of the sprawling fire had slowed but thousands of homes remained threatened on its eastern side, authorities said.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proclaimed a state of emergency for four northern counties because of wildfires that he said were causing "conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property." The proclamation opens the way for more state support.
On Saturday, fire crews from California and Utah were coming to Montana, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced. Five firefighters were injured Thursday when swirling winds blew flames back on them as they worked on the Devil´s Creek fire burning in rough, steep terrain near the rural town of Jordan.
They remained hospitalized Friday but Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Mark Jacobsen declined to release the extent of their injuries. The firefighters included three U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crew members from North Dakota and two U.S. Forest Service firefighters from New Mexico.
In California, the Tamarack Fire south of Lake Tahoe continued to burn through timber and chaparral and threatened communities on both sides of the California-Nevada state line. The fire, sparked by lightning July 4 in Alpine County, has destroyed at least 10 buildings.
Marcus Kauffman, public information officer with the Bootleg Fire, walks through burn damage near the Northwest containment line on Friday, July 23, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Friday in Butte County, California, as the Dixie Fire continued to grow explosively eastward, becoming the state´s largest wildfire so far this year.
In north-central Washington, firefighters battled several blazes in Okanogan County that threatened hundreds of homes. And in northern Idaho, east of Spokane, Washington, a small fire near the Silverwood Theme Park prompted evacuations Friday evening in the surrounding area.
Although hot weather with afternoon winds posed a continued threat of spreading some blazes, weekend forecasts also called for a chance of scattered thunderstorms in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and other states. However, forecasters said some could be dry thunderstorms that produce little rain but a lot of lightning, which can spark new blazes.
More than 80 large wildfires were burning around the country, most of them in Western states and they had burned some 1.4 million acres (2,135 square miles or more than 553,000 hectares) of land.
A sign damaged by the Bootleg Fire stands among the haze on Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Sayyid Bey, left, and his son Nicolas Bey, 11, sift through the remains of their home Thurday, July22, 2021, after it was destroyed by the Bootleg Fire near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
A sign damaged by the Bootleg Fire lies on the ground on Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Spot fires burn near trees damaged by the Bootleg Fire on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Smoke from the Bootleg Fire lingers on Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Fire retardant coats rocks in a field damaged by the Bootleg Fire, Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
A dog named Zippy walks past a destroyed truck Thursday, July 22, 2021, belonging to her owner, Gauge Clark, whose home was destroyed in the Bootleg Fire near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
A tree trunk that was singed by the Bootleg Fire is seen Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Firefighters from across the country listen to a briefing before beginning a shift fighting the Bootleg Fire, Thursday, July 22, 2021 near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
A single cow walks through an area damaged by the Bootleg Fire, Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Sayyid Bey sifts through the remains of his home Thursday, July 22, 2021, after it was destroyed by the Bootleg Fire near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Gauge Clark, whose home was destroyed in the Bootleg Fire, talks about his evacuation, Thursday, July 22, 2021 near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Cattle move through hills damaged by the Bootleg Fire, Thursday, July 22, 2021 near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Sayyid Bey sifts through the remains of his home Thursday, July 22, 2021, after it was destroyed by the Bootleg Fire near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Two cars that were destroyed by the Bootleg Fire sit near damaged property Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Bly, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
People stand behind the fire line as the flames spread through dry grasses at the Steptoe Canyon Fire Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Colton, Wash. (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
Spot fires smolder near trees damaged by the Bootleg Fire on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Smoke from the Bootleg Fire lingers on Thursday, July 22, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Spot fires burn near trees damaged by the Bootleg Fire on Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
This satellite image provided by Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies shows the wildfires in Northern California and Oregon on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The Oregon fire, which was sparked by lightning, has ravaged the sparsely populated southern part of the state and had been expanding by up to 4 miles (6 kilometers) a day, pushed by strong winds and critically dry weather that turned trees and undergrowth into a tinderbox. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
In this photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management, a helicopter works above the Devil's Creek Fire in central Montana on Thursday, July 22, 2021. Five firefighters were injured when a thunderstorm and swirling winds in central Montana blew a lightning-caused wildfire back on them, federal officials said Friday, July 23, 2021. (Mark Jacobsen/Bureau of Land Management via AP)
A small brush fires spreads ahead of a containment line near the Northwest edge of the Bootleg Fire on Friday, July 23, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Ryan Berlin, a public information officer with the Bootleg Fire, examines a fire resistant cover used to protect a cabin near the Northwest edge of the fire on Friday, July 23, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
Firefighters from New Mexico walk toward the Northwest edge of the Bootleg Fire while working to build a containment line on Friday, July 23, 2021, near Paisley, Ore. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)
