86 fires surge across U.S., burning more than a million acres

By Harry Wilmerding
Daily Caller News Foundation

Wildfires continue to surge throughout the U.S., burning over 1.5 million acres as of Monday, according to multiple reports.

There are currently 86 fires burning in 12 states, with the largest in California and Oregon, according to the InciWeb.

#NationalFireNews Currently, 86 large fires have burned 1,498,205 acres in 12 states. Increased resource commitments have brought the national total of firefighters and support personnel to more than 22,200. #FireYear2021 #DixieFire photo @R5_Fire_News @CAL_FIRE (InciWeb) pic.twitter.com/FyoOCjnFrA

— National Interagency Fire Center (@NIFC_Fire) July 25, 2021

The Bootleg fire in Oregon, the nation’s largest wildfire, has burned over 410,000 acres and is 53% contained, according to InciWeb.

“This fire [Bootleg] is resistant to stopping at dozer lines,” Fire Behavior Analyst Jim Hampton said in a statement on the InciWeb.

“With the critically dry weather and fuels we are experiencing, firefighters are having to constantly re-evaluate their control lines and look for contingency options,” Hampton said.

More than 2,400 people have been evacuated as of Sunday, and 67 houses have been burned, Sarah Gracey, spokesman for the fire agencies fighting the blaze, told The Wall Street Journal.

The Bootleg Fire, which is the third largest in Oregon’s history, still threatens another 2,500 structures and the number of ruined buildings will “change as we get in and make assessments,” Gracey told the WSJ.

California has continued to see massive fires spread throughout the state, according to the WSJ.

The Dixie Fire has burned over 190,000 acres and is only 21% contained, while the Tamarack Fire has burned almost 67,000 acres and is 27% contained according to InciWeb.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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