Size of Oregon wildfire underscores vastness of the US West
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The monstrous wildfire burning in Oregon has grown to a third the size of Rhode Island and spreads miles each day, but evacuations and property losses have been minimal compared with much smaller blazes in densely populated areas of California.
The fire s jaw-dropping size contrasted with its relatively small impact on people underscores the vastness of the American West and offers a reminder that Oregon, which is larger than Britain, is still a largely rural state, despite being known mostly for its largest city, Portland.
The 476-square-mile (1,210-square-kilometer) Bootleg Fire is burning 300 miles southeast of Portland in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest, a vast expanse of old-growth forest, lakes and wildfire refuges.
Nathan Howard
Originally published on July 22, 2021 5:44 pm
As the nation’s largest wildfire neared 400,000 acres burned on Thursday, nine firefighters assigned to the blaze tested positive for COVID-19. That’s prompted state health officials to work with incident management teams to set up quarantine areas away from fire camps, though officials also noted that they had already taken steps to minimize transmission risk after developing pandemic response plans during last year’s wildfire season.
“This fire season has been slightly different due to the broad availability of vaccines and the prioritization of structural and wildland firefighting resources for vaccination in the spring,” incident managers wrote in a statement announcing the outbreak. “However, many of last year’s COVID-19 exposure mitigation measures are still in use at fire camps statewide.”
Sergio Olmos, Henry Fountain and Simon Romero, The New York Times
Published: 23 Jul 2021 11:07 AM BdST
Updated: 23 Jul 2021 11:07 AM BdST Smoke from the Bootleg Fire hangs in the horizon outside Lakeview, Ore on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. The New York Times
Smoke smeared the sky gray. A tractor-style logging machine sat abandoned and charred in a field. Hundreds of firefighters raced across miles and miles of forest land, often outnumbering the populations of the small towns that speckle southern Oregon. );
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A lightning strike on a brittle-dry Oregon mountain slope set off a blaze that has grown larger than the city of Los Angeles, revealing the challenges of curbing small blazes that can explode into colossal wildfires.
Bootleg Fire surpasses 400,000 acres, pushing east toward Summer Lake kdrv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kdrv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
News Break
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Wildfires in the American West, including one burning in Oregon that’s currently the largest in the U.S., are creating hazy skies as far away as New York as the massive infernos spew smoke and ash into the air in columns up to six miles high.
Skies over New York City were hazy Tuesday as strong winds blew smoke east from California, Oregon, Montana and other states. Oregon’s Bootleg Fire grew to 606 square miles (1,569 square kilometers) half the size of Rhode Island.
Fires also grew on both sides of California’s Sierra Nevada. In Alpine County, the so-called California Alps, the Tamarack Fire caused evacuations of several communities and grew to 61 square miles (158 square kilometers) with no containment. The Dixie Fire, near the site of 2018′s deadly Paradise Fire, was more than 90 square miles (163 square kilometers) and threatened tiny communities in the Feather River Valley region.