As wild fire torches Oregon, around 2000 evacuated

Photo: Oregon State Fire Marshall

A wildfire that is spreading up to four miles a day has made more than 2,000 people homeless in the US state of Oregon.

The fire, also known as Boot-leg fire, is ripping southwest Oregon and is said to be the largest of the dozens of wildfires currently burning across the US.

The blazes around the region spread more than 5,000 acres of area, just in 24 hours, and has now torched a larger area than New York City. 

More than 1,700 firefighters have been aided by a dozen water-dropping helicopters in their efforts to extinguish the blaze, which began on 6 July around 250 miles south of the state capital, Portland.

The Bootleg Fire has now charred more than 227,000 acres in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest - exceeding the landmass of New York City.

It was around 7% contained as of Thursday when evacuation orders were expanded to include Summer Lake and Paisley - towns in Lake County just north of the California border.

Publish : 2021-07-16 19:09:00

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