Scores of destructive wildfires racing across much of the Northwest could be energized this week by a resurgence of high winds and heat, forecasters warned Monday.
The historic Dixie Fire is threatening thousands of homes across four Northern California counties, but more than 100 major blazes continue to rage through 15 Western states, authorities say.
“An extremely challenging stretch is in store for area firefighters over the upcoming days as episodes of gusty winds will precede the building heat,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Thick smoke that held down winds and temperatures in many areas had also brought havoc to air quality. Denver on Saturday had literally the worst air quality in the world, according to IQair.com. On Monday the city had yielded the top spot – to Krasnoyarsk, Russia – but still ranked seventh in the world, just behind Salt Lake City.
Twenty-five major fires are burning in Montana, the most of any state. Idaho has 20, Oregon has 16, Washington 13 and California 11. Temperatures could climb 25 degrees above average in some areas this week, worsening the already intense drought across the region, AccuWeather said.
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The return of the winds and intense heat do not bode well for more than 20,000 firefighters battling the blazes. Mark Brunton, operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the live trees in many areas have a lower fuel moisture than kiln-dried lumber at a lumber yard.
“It’s that dry, so it doesn’t take much for any sort of embers, sparks or small flaming front to get (a fire) going,” he said.
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California’s fire season is on pace to surpass last year, which was the worst fire season in recent recorded state history. Since the start of 2021, more than 6,000 blazes have destroyed more than 1,260 square miles of land – a larger area than the state of Rhode Island and more than triple the losses for the same period in 2020, according to CalFire figures.
Firefighters have been able to tamp down growth of the River Fire, a blaze burning south of the Dixie Fire that broke out Wednesday and destroyed 68 homes.
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The Dixie Fire, the largest single blaze in California history, grew to an area of more than 750 square miles late Sunday and remained just 21% contained, according to CalFire. It had scorched an area larger than the city of Los Angeles.
The smoke clearing out on eastern portions of the fire meant crews that had been directly attacking the front lines would be forced to retreat and build containment lines farther back, said Dan McKeague, a fire information officer from the U.S. Forest Service. On the plus side, better visibility should allow planes and helicopters to return to the firefight.
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“As soon as that air clears, we can fly again,” McKeague said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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