Contraband fire: Hundreds still on evacuation orders as country’s largest wildfire destroys 400,000 acres

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“It’s a bit of a dubious honor,” Oregon Department of Forestry spokesman Marcus Kauffman said of the blaze that started July 6 and charred 400,389 acres by Friday morning, with 40% content.

“But it’s not all bad news,” he said. “Over the past two days, the fire has only grown by 1,000 acres per day, and for a fire of this size, that’s essentially a very strong signal that the fire behavior is moderating.”

Still, we have “a long way to go to keep surrounding communities safe,” said Joe Prummer of the North West Interagency Incident Management Team.

With the climate crisis making deadlier and more destructive forest fires the new normal, 83 major fires are now burning in the United States. They destroyed nearly 1.4 million acres, prompting more than 21,000 firefighters and support personnel, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Idaho is home to the most fires, with 23, and Montana is just behind, with 17.

Hundreds of more fires are burning in the Canadian province of British Columbia, where a state of emergency was declared this week.

The smoke has traveled far and is expected to continue to cause health problems across the United States.

Dee McCauley inspects the charred wreckage on her property in Bly, Oregon on Thursday.

Air quality in New York City, home to more than 8 million people, was hit on Tuesday when smoke created a hazy skyline and made it look the poorest in the city in 15 years .

While atmospheric conditions in the Northeast improved significantly on Thursday – thanks to a cold front that pushed out some of that smoke – millions of people in the Midwest and Southeast still breathe air compromised by blankets of smoke that linger.

Many areas of the Northwest and the Rockies, where wildfires burn, are also the subject of air quality alerts. On Friday, the smoke is expected to move south, passing through Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama, before returning to the northeast.

Biggest fire wreaks havoc among crews

The Bootleg Fire demanded a massive response from firefighting crews – and presented great challenges as it unfolds during a pandemic.

Nine firefighters have tested positive for Covid-19, firefighters reported Thursday.

“Due to the number of positive cases, this will be reported to (the Oregon Health Authority) as a workplace epidemic,” officials said. Anyone in a fire camp reporting symptoms – as well as their close contacts – should self-isolate until Covid-19 results return, according to protocols developed with state health officials.

In addition, a firefighter was separated from his team last weekend and was alone in the blaze for nearly three hours, officials said.

“He was not lost but was separated from his crew because he had to move in the opposite direction to maintain his own safety,” said Kevin Keeler, Army Guard helicopter pilot. Nevada, in a statement.

“The firefighter was in good spirits and was able to walk to a waiting ambulance,” officials said.

A sign damaged by the Bootleg Fire stands Thursday amid the haze near Paisley, Oregon.

Bootleg Fire char carbon offsets

To make matters worse, the Bootleg Fire also spread to at least a fifth of the forests set aside for carbon offsets in the neighboring region on Thursday afternoon, according to a CNN analysis.

Trees in these forests, known as Klamath East, were believed to survive 100 years to remove carbon from the climate that warms the climate.

But since the start of the Bootleg fire, the flames have burned nearly 90,000 acres of trees set aside to offset carbon emissions on behalf of businesses and individuals. This represents about a fifth of the total territory of Klamath East, according to a CNN analysis.

It will be weeks after the fire is extinguished before the company can assess the impact on its forests, said Patti Case of the Green Diamond Resource Company, which manages the carbon project in Klamath East.

“While it may seem like nothing will escape the flames, we often find areas after the fact that are simply burnt out and will survive. In other cases, the fire burns so hot that everything is devastated, and replanting is a problem. challenge, ”Case said. .

CNN’s Andy Rose, Dave Hennen, Chris Boyette, Daniel Wolfe, Tal Yellin, Renée Rigdon and John Keefe contributed to this report.

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