Western Wildfires May Take Weeks To Months To Contain

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/01/1023274008/western-wildfires-oregon-
california-drought

Pockets of the American West continued to burn over the weekend, as
another nine large fires were reported on Saturday in California, Idaho,
Montana and Oregon.

The 87 fires still active in 13 states have consumed more than 1.7 million
acres. Just shy of 3 million acres have been scorched since the start of
2021, with months left in what experts predict will be a devastating fire
season.

In southern Oregon, the Bootleg Fire has become the largest active blaze
in the country. The 413,000-acre inferno was contained at 56%, as of
Saturday night. A fire line has been constructed around the entire
perimeter, ranging from 100 to 150-feet wide between the burn and unburned
areas. However, that fire line may have to double, up to 300 feet, to
prevent the fire from spreading.

The U.S. Forest Service is predicting critical fire weather over the
weekend in the Bootleg Fire area. Drought conditions, combined with low
humidity and strong winds, could increase fire activity, potentially
carrying embers and creating nearby spot fires. Residents in neighboring
Lake County have been advised to be prepared to evacuate should things
take a turn for the worst. Officials don't anticipate the fire to be
entirely contained until the beginning of October.

In Northern California, east of Chico, some 5,500 individuals are working
to contain the Dixie Fire, currently the second-largest fire in the U.S.
As of Saturday, the 244,000-acre blaze was contained at 30%, with crews
expecting 100% containment in two weeks.

A third of the country's wildfire personnel are tackling the two biggest
blazes
Two weeks ago, the National Interagency Fire Center elevated its
preparedness level from 4 to 5, indicating the highest level of wildfire
activity. This occurs when large, complex fires erupt across multiple
geographic locations, which threaten to exhaust firefighting resources. A
Boeing 737 airtanker all the way from Australia touched down in Idaho last
weekend to help. The aircraft can carry up to 4,000 gallons of fire
retardant and will be used as needed across the country, NIFC said.

More than 22,000 personnel are currently assigned to wildfires across the
country, sometimes moving from one incident to another. The two biggest
fires are occupying approximately one-third of the nation's active
wildfire personnel. The Bootleg Fire, about the size of the city of
Houston, has 1,900 workers tending to it. The Dixie Fire to the south is
slightly smaller than the city of San Diego and has almost three times the
number of personnel working the area than that of the bigger Bootleg fire.

"Fire season" is turning into "fire year"
What was once known as fire season is slowly becoming a year-round
problem, says the USFS. Now, the agency is worried about burning through
limited resources.

"For years, agencies relied on seasonal firefighters for summer months,
but now that wildfires are burning into the winter, they need to
reevaluate their hiring plans," read a USFS blog post this week. "Wildland
firefighting agencies also need to evaluate the way they conduct training
for year-round fire, as well as how to handle the inevitable workforce
fatigue."

In the remainder of the year, fire conditions will likely get worse before
they get any better. According to a fire outlook report released by NIFC,
the months of August and September are expected to have above average fire
activity before conditions improve in October.



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