Wildfires in California and Montana have spiraled overnight, fuelled by hot and windy conditions and threatening neighborhoods and forcing evacuation orders.
In California‘s Klamath National Forest, a largely rural area near the Oregon state line, the fast-moving McKinney fire went from scorching just over one square mile (about 2.5 sq km) on Friday, to tearing across 62 square miles (160 sq km) by Saturday.
The blaze burned down at least a dozen homes, and observers spotted wildlife fleeing the area.
Klamath National Forest spokeswoman Caroline Quintanilla warned the blaze was “continuing to grow with erratic winds and thunderstorms in the area and we’re in triple-digit (Fahrenheit) temperatures.”
With lightning forecasted over the next few days, extra resources from elsewhere in the state are being brought in to help fight the region’s fires, according to the US Forest Service.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday as the fire escalated, which granted him more flexibility to make emergency response and recovery effort decisions and access federal aid.
It also allows “firefighting resources from other states to assist California crews in battling the fires”, according to a statement from the governor’s office.
Source: skynews.comÂ