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The Bootleg Fire, which started July 6 in the Fremont-Winema National Forest is continuing to burn 15 miles northwest of Beatty, Oregon. It has torched 413,762 acres of land (roughly 647 square miles).

It’s one of 90 active large wildfires currently burning in 12 Western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.1 Wildfires in 2021 have already consumed more than three million acres of forest.

As is the case with the Bootleg Fire, record-breaking heat this summer combined with several years of drought conditions have fueled wildfires that burn faster and are more intense than in years past. So much so that the Bootleg Fire has, at times, created its own weather, complicating firefighting efforts.

According to the National Weather Service, the Oregon fire has burned with such heat and energy that it began forming pyrocumulus clouds that have the ability to create their very own thunderstorms, produce lightning and even spark tornados. The storm-creation phenomenon, and the high winds that accompany it, have hampered containment efforts. But this weekend’s progress has fire officials hopeful they can soon have a permanent handle on the nation’s largest wildfire.

• https://www.treehugger.com/oregon-bootleg-fire-continues-5195563

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