US firefighters are scrambling to contain blazes fanned into fury by high, drought and climate change that continue to burn across the western United States.
A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe jumped a highway, prompting more evacuation orders and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada on Saturday as critically dangerous wildfire weather loomed in the coming days.
The Tamarack Fire, which was sparked by lightning on July 4, exploded overnight and was over 80 square kilometres)as of Saturday evening, according to the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
Read also: Greenland stops oil exploration for climate reasons
Saturday’s ride was supposed to mark the 40th Death Ride, which attracts thousands of cyclists to the region each year to ride through three mountain passes in the so-called California Alps. It was cancelled last year during the coronavirus outbreak.
Afternoon winds blowing at 30-50km/h fanned the flames as they chewed through bone-dry timber and brush.
Meteorologists predicted critically dangerous fire weather through at least Monday in both California and southern Oregon, where the largest wildfire in the US continued to race through forests.
The Bootleg Fire grew significantly overnight on Saturday as dry and windy conditions took hold in the area, but containment of the inferno more than tripled as firefighters began to gain more control along its western flank.
The fire was still burning rapidly and dangerously along its southern and eastern flanks, however, and authorities expanded evacuations in a largely rural area of lakes and wildlife refuges.
The fire is now 1100 square kilometres in size.
Source: The News Daily
