Firefighters spray water while battling the Park Fire in the Cohasset community of Butte County, Calif., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. The crew was able to keep flames from reaching the mobile home they were protecting. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Scores of wildfires across the United States and Canada have scorched swaths of land in California, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Alberta and beyond, forcing evacuations and road closures, as well as destroying and threatening structures. Air quality advisories and alerts have been issued in some affected areas.
As of Friday, July 26, there were 96 large active fires in the U.S. that have engulfed 2,274 square miles (5,890 square kilometers), most of them in Oregon, followed by California and Arizona, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
More than 1,500 square miles (4,000 square kilometers) have burned overall so far this summer in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. In Canada, more than 3,700 fires have charred more than 8,000 square miles (22,800 square kilometers) so far this year, according to the government’s latest National Wildland Fire Situation Report, issued Wednesday.
Fuels and fire behavior advisories are in place for southwest Oregon, the region east of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington, Nevada, southern Idaho, Utah and California.
Here’s the latest on major wildfires as of Friday.
Durkee
The Durkee Fire in Baker County, Oregon, is the largest active blaze in the U.S., which merged with the Cow Fire to burn nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers). The blaze started nine days ago and remains unpredictable. It was only 20% contained Friday.
Evacuations were lifted for the small eastern Oregon city of Huntington after thunderstorms on Wednesday brought rain and cooler temperatures.
Park
The Park Fire in Butte County, California, near the city of Chico has seared 257 square miles (666 square kilometers) and was considered completely uncontained Friday.
Evacuations were ordered in Butte and Tehama counties. About 4,000 residents in unincorporated areas of Butte County and 400 residents of Chico were ordered to evacuate, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said late Thursday. Two minor injures were reported, more than 130 structures were destroyed and about 4,200 were threatened.
A California man arrested Thursday was accused of sparking the state’s largest wildfire of the year by pushing a burning car into a gully. Ronnie Dean Stout, 42, of Chico, was being held without bail pending an arraignment Monday, officials said.
The blaze was burning northwest of Paradise, the community devasted by the Camp Fire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Jasper
A wildfire in the Canadian Rockies has scorched 139 square miles (360 square kilometers).
Officials said Thursday that the blaze prompted 25,000 people to flee as it roared into the near-deserted town of Jasper overnight. Assessments of damaged infrastructure was ongoing, but officials estimated about 30% of the town was damaged, with 358 structures destroyed.
The town’s hospital, emergency services building, activity center, schools and wastewater treatment plant were protected.
Cooler temperatures and rain brought minimal fire spread Friday, but winds anticipated to reach up to 18.6 mph (30 kph) could increase fire activity.
Gwen
The Gwen Fire, which includes the River Fire, is burning in Latah County, Idaho, about 30 miles outside the city of Lewiston, and has charred 31 square miles (80 square kilometers). Information about containment and the number of square miles burned so far was not immediately available.
Residents of the town of Juliaetta, population of just over 600, were evacuated Thursday ahead of the lightning-sparked blaze, as were several other communities near the Clearwater River.
The Idaho Department of Lands said “multiple structures” were burned, but it did not immediately release more details about whether the structures were homes or outbuildings.
Falls
The human-caused Falls Fire in Harney County, Oregon, has destroyed 219 square miles (567 square kilometers) and was 55% contained.
A tanker plane that disappeared Thursday while fighting the Falls Fire and others across several Western states has been found, and the pilot on board is dead, authorities said Friday.
Evacuation orders remained in place in Grant and Harney counties because of the Falls Fire and the nearby Telephone Fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Gold Complex
The Gold Complex fires in Portola, California, have seared nearly 5 square miles (12 square kilometers) of brush and timber in the Plumas National Forest and were 11% contained. The blaze, sparked by lightning, displaced about 1,000 people Thursday. But some evacuation orders were lifted Friday.
Lone Rock
The Lone Rock Fire in Gilliam County, Oregon, has burned 213 square miles (552 square kilometers) and was 45% contained.
Minimal to moderate fire behavior on Thursday allowed crews to make progress and increase containment, greatly reducing the threat to structures, according to a fire update on InciWeb.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
Macy
The Macy Fire in inland Southern California, in the city of Lake Elsinore in Riverside County, erupted Thursday afternoon and was 15% contained. One unspecified structure had been destroyed, and evacuation orders remained in place.
DORANY PINEDA Associated Press
