The country’s largest active wildfire continues to burn in Oregon, while California residents in both the north and south the state were forced to evacuate rapidly growing fires.
Currently in peak fire season, the U.S. currently has 89 large active wildfires, with only one contained, according to the Department of the Interior’s National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The fires have burned 1,253,640 acres across multiple states.
NIFC told Newsweek in an email: “We are in the midst of a very active fire year. In the past twenty years, this is one of only four times that we have gone to a national preparedness level of 5 (indicating the highest level of activity and the most demand for firefighting resources) in July.”
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“Currently, the northwest region is experiencing the highest volume of activity, while several weeks ago, it was Alaska,” NIFC said.
The Durkee Fire
The Durkee Fire, ignited by a lightning spark on July 17, has spread to 268,492 acres, burning swathes of eastern Oregon, according to the latest press release. The blaze is near the Oregon-Idaho state line, close to Interstate 84. The Oregon Department of Transportation posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the highway reopened on Thursday.
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So far, 514 personnel, 50 engines, nine crews, eight dozers, nine water tenders, and one helicopter, have been tasked with containing the fire, which is currently at 0% containment. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek says she has deployed resources from the National Guard to support blazes across the state.
The fire has grown rapidly due to “record setting high temperatures, extremely and unseasonably dry fuels, and erratic high winds,” a press release of the coordinating local, state, and national departments fighting the fire said.
Nearby residents have been evacuated, with the Baker County Sheriff’s Office and Malheur County Sheriff’s Office updating evacuation orders on its Facebook page. Following yesterday’s storm reprieve, the city of Huntington has lowered its evacuation warning from level 3 “GO” to level 1 “BE READY.”
Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash told Newsweek in an email Thursday: “Our local, rural fire agencies and rangeland fire protection associations have been working tirelessly to battle this fire since its ignition on July 17th. They are facing difficult conditions, especially with the adverse weather we’ve been seeing. These are hardworking, dedicated folks who truly care about their community. We are incredibly lucky to have them on the front lines.”
Newsweek reached out to the coordinated Durkee Fire effort, the National Weather Service in Oregon, and National Interagency Fire Center for comment via email on Thursday.
California Fires
The Park Fire started yesterday around 3 p.m., and has crossed two counties in Northern California, Butte and Tehama, burning 71,489 acres. It is currently 3% contained according to CAL FIRE.
More than 3,500 residents were forced to evacuate Wednesday night, the California governor’s office wrote in a statement.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by CAL FIRE.
However, the Butte Attorney General’s office released a statement today that “A 42-year-old Chico man was arrested early this morning by Cal Fire arson investigators, assisted by District Attorney investigators on suspicion of starting the Park Fire.”
It is believed that he pushed a car that was ablaze into a gully yesterday afternoon. The car went down the embankment and then spread “flames that caused the Park Fire.” The statement says the man’s name will be released this afternoon.
According to the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) on its website, “Nearly 85% of wildland fires in the United States are caused by humans.”
Newsweek reached out to CAL FIRE via email on Thursday.
In San Diego County, evacuation orders went into effect after the Grove Fire grew to 1.3 square miles within hours. As of last night it was 5% contained.
Correction 7/25/24 at 4:20 p.m. ET: A previous comment about the Durkee Fire having the most resources allotted to it was wrongly cited. It has been removed.
Updated 7/25/24 at 4:20 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from NIFC.
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