Wildfires rage as US West grapples with heat wave, drought

Firefighters were working in extreme temperatures across the US West and struggling to contain wildfires, the largest burning in California and Oregon, as another heat wave baked the region, straining power grids.

The largest wildfire of the year in California – the Beckwourth Complex – was raging along the Nevada state line and has burned about 140 square miles as of Monday morning, and state regulators asked consumers to voluntarily “conserve as much electricity as possible” to avoid any outages starting in the afternoon.

In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire exploded to 240 square miles as it raced through heavy timber in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the Klamath County town of Sprague River. The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to neighbouring California.

A wildfire in southeast Washington grew to almost 60 square miles, and in Idaho, Governor Brad Little has mobilised the National Guard to help fight fires sparked after lightning storms swept across the drought-stricken region.

The blazes come as the West is in the midst of a second extreme heat wave within just a few weeks and as the entire region is suffering from one of the worst droughts in recent history. Extreme heat warnings in California were finally expected to expire last night.

On Sunday, firefighters working in temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) were able to gain some ground on the Beckwourth Complex, increasing containment to 23 per cent.

Late Saturday, flames jumped US 395, which was closed near the small town of Doyle in California’s Lassen County. The lanes reopened on Sunday, and officials urged motorists to use caution and keep moving along the key north-south route where flames were still active.

“Do not stop and take pictures,” said the fire’s Operations Section Chief Jake Cagle. “You are going to impede our operations if you stop and look at what’s going on.”

Cagle said structures had burned in Doyle, but he didn’t have an exact number. Bob Prary, who manages the Buck-Inn Bar in the town of about 600 people, said he saw at least six houses destroyed after Saturday’s flare-up. The fire was smoldering Sunday in and around Doyle, but he feared that some remote ranch properties were still in danger.