SAN DIEGO (AP) — Wildfires in California and Montana exploded overnight amid hot and windy conditions and quickly swept through neighborhoods, forcing evacuation orders for more than 100 homes Saturday as they spread an Idaho fire.
In California’s Klamath National Forest, the fast-moving McKinney fire, which started on Friday, went from charring just over 1 square mile (1 square kilometer) to burning up to 62 square miles (160 square kilometers) on Saturday in a mostly rural area. near the Oregon state line, according to fire officials.
“It continues to grow with erratic winds and thunderstorms in the area and we’re in the triple digits,” said Caroline Quintanilla, spokeswoman for the Klamath National Forest.
Meanwhile, in Montana, the Elmo wildfire nearly tripled in size to more than 11 square miles (about 28 square kilometers) a few miles from the town of Elmo. About 200 miles to the south, Idaho residents remained under evacuation orders as the Moose Fire in the Salmon-Challis National Forest charred more than 174.8 square kilometers (67.5 square miles) on a wooded lot near the town of Salmon. It was contained in 17%.
A significant buildup of vegetation was fueling the McKinney fire, said Tom Stokesberry, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman for the region.
“It’s a very dangerous fire — the geography there is steep and rugged, and that particular area hasn’t burned in a long time,” he said.
A small fire was also burning nearby outside the town of Seiad, Stokesberry said. With lightning predicted for the next few days, resources from across California were being brought in to help fight the fires in the region, he said.
McKinney’s explosive growth forced crews to shift from trying to control the fire’s perimeter to trying to protect homes and critical infrastructure like water tanks and power lines, and help with evacuations in County Siskiyou, further north in California.
Deputies and law enforcement were knocking on the doors of the Yreka County seat and the city of Fort Jones to urge residents to get out and evacuate their livestock safely to trailers. Automated calls were also sent to landline telephone lines because there were areas without cell phone service.
More than 100 homes were ordered to be evacuated and authorities warned people to be on high alert. Smoke from the fire caused sections of Highway 96 to be closed.
“We are asking residents throughout the area to be prepared,” said Courtney Kreider, spokeswoman for the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. “Last night we pushed for evacuations about every hour, and there are large parts of the county that are in warning zones.”
Moments later, he said, “Oh, we just added another area to the evacuation notice.”
The Pacific Coast Trail Association urged hikers to reach the nearest town, while the U.S. Forest Service closed a 110-mile (177-kilometer) section of the trail from the summit of Mt. Etna to the camp Mt. Ashland, Southern Oregon.
Oregon State Rep. Dacia Grayber, who is a firefighter, was camping with her husband, who is also a firefighter, near the California state line when strong winds woke them up after midnight
The sky was bright with lightning strikes in the clouds as ash blew over them, even though they were in Oregon, about 10 miles (about 16 kilometers) away. The fire’s intense heat had pushed up a massive pyrocumulonimbus cloud, which can produce its own weather system, including winds and thunderstorms, Grayber said.
“These were some of the worst winds I’ve ever been in and we’re used to big fires,” he said. “I thought he was going to rip the tent off the roof of our truck. We got out of there.”
On their way out, they encountered hikers on the Pacific Coast Trail fleeing to safety. They offered rides, but one hiker said he would only have a beer, which he was given, he said.
“The scary part for us was the wind speed,” he said. “It went from a pretty cool cool night to hurricane force dry hot winds. Usually that happens with a daytime fire but not at night. I hope for everyone’s sake this dies down but it looks like it’s going to get worse “.
In western Montana, the wind-driven Elmo Fire forced the evacuation of homes and livestock as it raced through grass and timber, according to The National Interagency Fire Center, based in Idaho. The agency estimates that it would take almost a month to contain the fire.
Smoke closed a portion of Highway 28 between Hot Springs and Elmo due to thick smoke, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.
Crews from several different agencies battled the fire Saturday, including the Salish Confederate Fire Division and Kootenai Tribes. Six helicopters were making drops on the fire, aided by 22 engines on the ground.
In Idaho, more than 930 wildland firefighters and support personnel were battling the Moose Fire Saturday and protecting homes, energy infrastructure and the Highway 93 corridor, a major north-south route.
A red flag warning said the weather could get worse with the forecast calling for a “dry storm”, with lightning, wind and no rain.
Meanwhile, crews made significant progress fighting another major wildfire in California that forced thousands to evacuate near Yosemite National Park earlier this month. The Oak fire was 52 percent contained Saturday, according to an incident update from Cal Fire.
As wildfires raged across the West, the U.S. House on Friday passed sweeping legislation aimed at helping communities across the region deal with increasingly severe wildfires and drought fueled by climate change that have caused billions of dollars in damage to homes and businesses in recent years.
The legislative measure passed by federal lawmakers Friday combines 49 separate bills and would increase firefighter pay and benefits; promote the resilience and mitigation projects of communities affected by climate change; protect watersheds; and making it easier for wildfire victims to get federal aid.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has sponsored a similar measure.
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.