Wildfire smoke continued to spread across the western U.S. on Monday, as dozens of fires burned in several states. Red flag warnings and air quality alerts were issued in Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon due to dangerous fire weather conditions. As of Sunday, 103 large fires were being targeted by firefighters nationwide, with evacuations in effect for over 20 fires.
In California, the Park Fire, started by a man pushing a burning car, has become the largest fire in the state this year, burning over 360,000 acres near Paradise. Other fires in California are also spreading rapidly, with the Borel Fire expected to be extreme. In Oregon, lightning sparked fires and a missing pilot’s body was found after his plane crashed while battling a fire.
In Utah, ‘critical’ fire conditions were expected with strong winds and low humidity, while in Wyoming and Idaho, red flag warnings were in effect due to wildfires sparked by a plane crash and warm temperatures leading to extreme fire behavior. Authorities in Oregon are sending more responders to tackle blazes near Wallowa as five fires converged over the weekend. Overall, fire conditions were expected to remain dangerous in several states throughout the week.
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