Justin Bullock, FISM News
The brutal heatwave and drought continues to oppress the Western United States and the situation is only getting worse as wildfires have begun to tear through the region. A wildfire near Doyle, California spans close to 90,000 acres but there are a number of other smaller fires across California, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, and Idaho. Thus far two firefighters have died in Arizona, and in Idaho the governor has activated the National Guard to be on alert in order to assist firefighters.
The US Forest Service has said that only 20% of the fire near Doyle is under control at present. Multiple firefighting crews throughout the region have reported that water dropped from helicopters evaporates before even hitting the flames below due to the extreme temperatures. In Oregon a wildfire spanning 153,000 acres is burning through Klammath County after exploding out of the Fremont-Winema National Forest on Saturday.
Evacuations are in effect for almost all regions impacted by active wildfires in the Western US. In most cases the fears of continued record high temperatures and extreme drought reign supreme as Americans in the region try to figure out what to do. The fear of heat lightening is high as it is one of the largest causes of wildfire. Worries regarding a significant water shortage are also increasing as the western states do not have enough water to supply residents in their day to day usage and also fight a growing number of wildfires that will burn for days, weeks, and even in some rare cases, months.