Firefighters reported progress over the weekend against the nation’s largest wildfire, the Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon, containing 53% of the blaze that has consumed about 410,000 acres.
More than 2,200 firefighters battled the blaze, focusing Sunday on constructing containment lines at the north and eastern edges in dense timber. Crews could get a break from rain and higher humidity predicted for this week, said Marcus Kauffman, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The lightning-caused fire has burned 67 homes, mainly cabins, and at least 2,000 houses were under evacuation orders.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told CNN’s “State of the Union” that it’s imperative federal and state authorities invest in mitigation such as tree thinning and preventive burns to limit the number of similar massive blazes. But she conceded that “the harsh reality is that we’re going to see more of these wildfires.”
“They’re hotter, they’re more fierce, and obviously much more challenging to tackle. And they are a sign of the changing climate impacts,” Brown said Sunday.
The Elbow Creek fire near Wallowa had burned 22,681 acres and was 32% contained as of Sunday night. The Jack Fire in Douglas County was 58% contained as of Monday morning and had burned 21,609 acres.
More than 85 large wildfires were burning around the country on Monday morning, most of them in Western states. Together they had burned over 1.4 million acres.
