![]() These megafires usually burn until the late fall or even early winter, when rain finally puts them out. The fire’s current size puts it fourth on the list of the state’s largest blazes in modern times, including rangeland fires, and second on the list of infernos specifically burning in forest. “There are no suburbs in that area.”īut as big as the Bootleg Fire is, it’s not the biggest Oregon has seen. ![]() “The Bootleg Fire is threatening ranch houses that are in pretty far-flung areas,” Johnston said. Now it’s small, unincorporated communities like Paisley and Long Creek - both with fewer than 250 people - and scattered homesteads that are in the crosshairs. Pushed by strong winds from the southwest, the fire is spreading rapidly to the north and east, advancing toward an area that’s increasingly remote.Įvacuation orders on the fire’s southern edge, closer to more populous areas like Klamath Falls and Bly, have been lifted or relaxed as crews gain control. Thick smoke chokes the area where residents and wildlife alike have already been dealing with months of drought and extreme heat. At least 70 homes and more than 100 outbuildings have gone up in flames. It’s not the Bay Area out there.”Īt least 2,000 homes have been evacuated at some point during the fire and another 5,000 threatened. “But it is burning in one of the more remote areas of the lower 48 states. ![]() If the fire were in densely populated parts of California, “it would have destroyed thousands of homes by now,” said James Johnston, a researcher with Oregon State University’s College of Forestry who studies historical wildfires. The 476-square-mile (1,210-square-kilometer) Bootleg Fire is burning 300 miles (483 kilometers) southeast of Portland in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest, a vast expanse of old-growth forest, lakes and wildlife refuges. 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. (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. ![]()
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