Crews battle largest US wildfire, threats grow across West
Two planes and a helicopter work on the fire in Parleys Canyon, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
A red tractor is left behind as a home burns outside of Taylorsville in Plumas County, Calif., that was impacted by the Dixie Fire Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system as wildfires continue to break out across the U.S. West. The agency says it has more than twice the number of firefighters working on the ground than at this point a year ago, and is facing “critical resources limitations.” An estimated 6,170 firefighters alone are battling the Dixie Fire in Northern California, the largest of 100 large fires burning in 14 states, with dozens more burning in western Canada. It has destroyed more than 1,000 structures in the northern Sierra Nevada. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
A worker blocks CA-89 highway to Canyondam in Plumas County, Calif., that was impacted by the Dixie Fire Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Isolated thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada could bring some moisture, but also gusty and erratic winds that could help spread the fire, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials said. Lightning could spark new blazes even as crews try to surround a number of other forest fires ignited by lightning last month. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Statues of Paul Bunyan, and his Big Blue Ox are seen in Westwood, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The statues carved from a nearly 1000 year old tree Redwood log 22 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 28,000 pounds are threatened by the fires. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Statues of Paul Bunyan, and his Big Blue Ox are seen in Westwood, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The statues carved from a nearly 1000 year old tree Redwood log 22 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 28,000 pounds, are threatened by the fires. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
CalFire firefighters and California Correctional Center (CCC) inmates fight a spot fire on the side of Highway CA-36 between Chester and Westwood in Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes.(AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
CalFire firefighters and California Correctional Center (CCC) inmates fight a spot fire on the side of Highway CA-36 between Chester and Westwood in Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. Climate change has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
This satellite image provided courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows the natural color overview of the Lame Deer and Richard Spring wildfire in Montana on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Maxar collected new high-resolution satellite imagery Aug. 13th of the two wildfires burning in southeastern Montana near the evacuated town of Lame Deer. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a shortwave infrared (SWIR) satellite imagery overview of the Lame Deer and Richard Spring wildfire in Montana on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Maxar SWIR satellite imagery is able to penetrate the wildfire smoke and clearly detects the hot spots and active fires. Burned trees and vegetation appears in shades of orange/rust, healthy (not burned) vegetation appears in shades of blue. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
After walking down a gravel road to do recon on a fire cresting into the trees, a wildland firefighter grimaces as he walks back to his crew on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, at the Bedrock Fire north of Lenore, Idaho. Lenore is about 30 miles east of Lewiston, Idaho. (Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
Johnnie Brookwood, 76, who leased a room at the Sierra Lodge Hotel that burned down along with all her belongings, poses for a picture at a shelter she’s now staying at, at the Springs of Hope Christian Fellowship church in Quincy, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Brookwood had never heard of a road named Dixie when a wildfire began a month ago in the forestlands of Northern California. Within three weeks, the Dixie Fire exploded into the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses including a lodge in the gold rush-era town of Greenville where she was renting a room for $650 per month. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
James Reichle, 77, of Greenville, Calif., who was displaced by the Dixie Fire, poses for a picture at the Springs of Hope Christian Fellowship church shelter in Quincy, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Firefighters faced “another critical day” Saturday, as thunderstorms pushed flames closer to two towns not far from where the Dixie Fire destroyed much of Greenville the week before. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Wind blows the smoke away for a moment, revealing the damage from the Parleys Canyon Fire, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
The Parleys Canyon Fire burns, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
A fire breaks out near Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
The Parleys Canyon Fire burns, as seen from Emigration Canyon, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
Two planes and a helicopter work on the fire in Parleys Canyon, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
A red tractor is left behind as a home burns outside of Taylorsville in Plumas County, Calif., that was impacted by the Dixie Fire Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system as wildfires continue to break out across the U.S. West. The agency says it has more than twice the number of firefighters working on the ground than at this point a year ago, and is facing “critical resources limitations.” An estimated 6,170 firefighters alone are battling the Dixie Fire in Northern California, the largest of 100 large fires burning in 14 states, with dozens more burning in western Canada. It has destroyed more than 1,000 structures in the northern Sierra Nevada. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
A red tractor is left behind as a home burns outside of Taylorsville in Plumas County, Calif., that was impacted by the Dixie Fire Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system as wildfires continue to break out across the U.S. West. The agency says it has more than twice the number of firefighters working on the ground than at this point a year ago, and is facing “critical resources limitations.” An estimated 6,170 firefighters alone are battling the Dixie Fire in Northern California, the largest of 100 large fires burning in 14 states, with dozens more burning in western Canada. It has destroyed more than 1,000 structures in the northern Sierra Nevada. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
A worker blocks CA-89 highway to Canyondam in Plumas County, Calif., that was impacted by the Dixie Fire Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Isolated thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada could bring some moisture, but also gusty and erratic winds that could help spread the fire, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials said. Lightning could spark new blazes even as crews try to surround a number of other forest fires ignited by lightning last month. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
A worker blocks CA-89 highway to Canyondam in Plumas County, Calif., that was impacted by the Dixie Fire Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Isolated thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada could bring some moisture, but also gusty and erratic winds that could help spread the fire, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials said. Lightning could spark new blazes even as crews try to surround a number of other forest fires ignited by lightning last month. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Statues of Paul Bunyan, and his Big Blue Ox are seen in Westwood, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The statues carved from a nearly 1000 year old tree Redwood log 22 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 28,000 pounds are threatened by the fires. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Statues of Paul Bunyan, and his Big Blue Ox are seen in Westwood, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The statues carved from a nearly 1000 year old tree Redwood log 22 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 28,000 pounds are threatened by the fires. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Statues of Paul Bunyan, and his Big Blue Ox are seen in Westwood, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The statues carved from a nearly 1000 year old tree Redwood log 22 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 28,000 pounds, are threatened by the fires. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Statues of Paul Bunyan, and his Big Blue Ox are seen in Westwood, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The statues carved from a nearly 1000 year old tree Redwood log 22 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, and weighing 28,000 pounds, are threatened by the fires. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
CalFire firefighters and California Correctional Center (CCC) inmates fight a spot fire on the side of Highway CA-36 between Chester and Westwood in Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes.(AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
CalFire firefighters and California Correctional Center (CCC) inmates fight a spot fire on the side of Highway CA-36 between Chester and Westwood in Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes.(AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
CalFire firefighters and California Correctional Center (CCC) inmates fight a spot fire on the side of Highway CA-36 between Chester and Westwood in Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. Climate change has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
CalFire firefighters and California Correctional Center (CCC) inmates fight a spot fire on the side of Highway CA-36 between Chester and Westwood in Plumas County, Calif., Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. In California, the Dixie Fire that virtually destroyed the Sierra Nevada town of Greenville is less than a third surrounded. Fire officials say Northern California will have dangerous fire weather on Friday, including possible lightning that could spark more blazes. Climate change has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
This satellite image provided courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows the natural color overview of the Lame Deer and Richard Spring wildfire in Montana on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Maxar collected new high-resolution satellite imagery Aug. 13th of the two wildfires burning in southeastern Montana near the evacuated town of Lame Deer. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
This satellite image provided courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows the natural color overview of the Lame Deer and Richard Spring wildfire in Montana on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Maxar collected new high-resolution satellite imagery Aug. 13th of the two wildfires burning in southeastern Montana near the evacuated town of Lame Deer. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a shortwave infrared (SWIR) satellite imagery overview of the Lame Deer and Richard Spring wildfire in Montana on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Maxar SWIR satellite imagery is able to penetrate the wildfire smoke and clearly detects the hot spots and active fires. Burned trees and vegetation appears in shades of orange/rust, healthy (not burned) vegetation appears in shades of blue. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a shortwave infrared (SWIR) satellite imagery overview of the Lame Deer and Richard Spring wildfire in Montana on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Maxar SWIR satellite imagery is able to penetrate the wildfire smoke and clearly detects the hot spots and active fires. Burned trees and vegetation appears in shades of orange/rust, healthy (not burned) vegetation appears in shades of blue. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies via AP)
After walking down a gravel road to do recon on a fire cresting into the trees, a wildland firefighter grimaces as he walks back to his crew on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, at the Bedrock Fire north of Lenore, Idaho. Lenore is about 30 miles east of Lewiston, Idaho. (Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
After walking down a gravel road to do recon on a fire cresting into the trees, a wildland firefighter grimaces as he walks back to his crew on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, at the Bedrock Fire north of Lenore, Idaho. Lenore is about 30 miles east of Lewiston, Idaho. (Pete Caster/Lewiston Tribune via AP)
Johnnie Brookwood, 76, who leased a room at the Sierra Lodge Hotel that burned down along with all her belongings, poses for a picture at a shelter she’s now staying at, at the Springs of Hope Christian Fellowship church in Quincy, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Brookwood had never heard of a road named Dixie when a wildfire began a month ago in the forestlands of Northern California. Within three weeks, the Dixie Fire exploded into the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses including a lodge in the gold rush-era town of Greenville where she was renting a room for $650 per month. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Johnnie Brookwood, 76, who leased a room at the Sierra Lodge Hotel that burned down along with all her belongings, poses for a picture at a shelter she’s now staying at, at the Springs of Hope Christian Fellowship church in Quincy, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Brookwood had never heard of a road named Dixie when a wildfire began a month ago in the forestlands of Northern California. Within three weeks, the Dixie Fire exploded into the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses including a lodge in the gold rush-era town of Greenville where she was renting a room for $650 per month. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
James Reichle, 77, of Greenville, Calif., who was displaced by the Dixie Fire, poses for a picture at the Springs of Hope Christian Fellowship church shelter in Quincy, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Firefighters faced “another critical day” Saturday, as thunderstorms pushed flames closer to two towns not far from where the Dixie Fire destroyed much of Greenville the week before. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
James Reichle, 77, of Greenville, Calif., who was displaced by the Dixie Fire, poses for a picture at the Springs of Hope Christian Fellowship church shelter in Quincy, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Firefighters faced “another critical day” Saturday, as thunderstorms pushed flames closer to two towns not far from where the Dixie Fire destroyed much of Greenville the week before. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Wind blows the smoke away for a moment, revealing the damage from the Parleys Canyon Fire, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
The Parleys Canyon Fire burns, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
A fire breaks out near Interstate 80 in Parleys Canyon, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
The Parleys Canyon Fire burns, as seen from Emigration Canyon, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021, in Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
QUINCY, Calif. (AP) — Johnnie Brookwood had never heard of a road named Dixie when a wildfire began a month ago in the forestlands of Northern California.
Within three weeks, it exploded into the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., destroying more than 1,000 homes and businesses including a lodge in the gold rush-era town of Greenville where she was renting a room for $650 per month.
“At first (the fire) didn’t affect us at all, it was off in some place called Dixie, I didn’t even know what it means,” Brookwood, 76, said Saturday. “Then it was ‘Oh no we have to go too?’ Surely Greenville won’t burn, but then it did and now all we can see are ashes.”
Firefighters faced “another critical day” as thunderstorms pushed flames closer to two towns not far from where the Dixie Fire destroyed much of Greenville last week.
The thunderstorms, which began Friday, didn’t produce much rain but whipped up wind and created lightning strikes, forcing crews to focus on using bulldozers to build lines and keep the blaze from reaching Westwood, a town of about 1,700 people. Westwood was placed under evacuation orders Aug. 5.
Wind gusts of up to 50 mph (80 kph) also pushed the fire closer to Janesville, a town of about 1,500 people, east of Greenville, said Jake Cagle, the operations chief at the east zone of the fire.
“Very tough day in there yesterday in the afternoon and the night (crew) picked up the pieces and tried to secure the edge the best they could with the resources they had,” he said in a briefing Saturday.
With a similar forecast of thunderstorms Saturday, firefighters faced “another critical day, another challenging day,” Cagle said.
The fire was among more than 100 large wildfires burning in more than a dozen states in the West seared by drought and hot, bone-dry weather that turned forests, brushlands, meadows and pastures into tinder.
The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system.
The roughly 21,000 federal firefighters working on the ground is more than double the number of firefighters sent to contain forest fires at this time a year ago, said Anthony Scardina, a deputy forester for the agency’s Pacific Southwest region.
More than 6,000 firefighters alone were battling the Dixie Fire, which has ravaged nearly 845 square miles (2,100 square kilometers) — an area the size of Tokyo — and was 31% contained.
“The size is unimaginable, its duration and its impact on these people, all of us, including me, is unbelieve,” Brookwood said while staying in her third evacuation center.
The cause of the fire has not been determined. Pacific Gas and Electric has said the fire may have been started when a tree fell on its power line.
There also was a danger of new fires erupting because of unstable weather conditions, including extreme heat across the northern half of the West and a chance of thunderstorms that could bring lightning to Northern California, Oregon and Nevada, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
A fast-moving fire broke out Saturday afternoon east of Salt Lake City, shutting down Interstate 80 and prompting the evacuation of Summit Park, a mountain community of 6,600 people. Fire officials said the blaze was burning about 3 square miles (8 square kilometers) and threatening thousands of homes and power lines.
In southeastern Montana, firefighters were gaining ground on a pair of fires that chewed through vast rangelands and at one point threatened the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
The fires were caused by heat from coal seams, the deposits of coal found in the ground in the area, said Peggy Miller, a spokeswoman for the fires.
Mandatory evacuation for the tribal headquarters town of Lame Deer remained in place due to poor air quality, she added.
Smoke also drove air pollution levels to unhealthy or very unhealthy levels in parts of Northern California, Oregon and Idaho, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
Hot, dry weather with strong afternoon winds also propelled several fires in Washington state, and similar weather was expected into the weekend, fire officials said.
In southeastern Oregon, two new wildfires started by lightning Thursday near the California border spread rapidly through juniper trees, sagebrush and evergreen trees.
The Patton Meadow Fire about 14 miles (23 kilometers) west of Lakeview, near the California border, exploded to 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) in less than 24 hours in a landscape sucked dry by extreme drought. It was 10% contained.
Triple-digit temperatures and bone-dry conditions in Oregon could increase fire risks through the weekend.
Climate change has made the U.S. West warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make the weather more extreme and wildfires more destructive, according to scientists.
Dozens of fires also are burning in western Canada and in Europe, including Greece, where a massive wildfire has decimated forests and torched homes.
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This story was corrected to show the Dixie Fire was likely caused by a tree falling onto a power line, according to PG&E, not by lightning.
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Nguyen reported from Oakland, California. Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco and Gillian Flaccus in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.