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The fire is currently 46% contained, an increase from Friday. But the fire also got bigger, scorching 408,248 acres as of Saturday, a more than 6,000-acre expansion from a day prior.
Additionally, smoke and haze from other nearby fires lingered throughout Saturday as temperatures remained warmer.
“The smoke is expected to keep temperatures down a couple degrees … which may help overall fire activity. Unfortunately, this smoke may impede air operations on the fire,” according to InciWeb.
The July 18 tornado was confirmed with the Medford National Weather Service Forecast Office, the post said.
Nearly 22,000 firefighters and support personnel have been deployed to tackle the fires, which have collectively burned more than 1.4 million acres, the agency said. Most of the fires are spread across Western US states, where extreme drought conditions have been reported.
One hundred firefighters from Mexico arrived in British Columbia Saturday to help combat the wildfires burning in the region, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia Mike Farnworth said during a news conference welcoming the crews.
Over the next 30 days, Mexican firefighters will work alongside wildfire service crews and firefighters in British Columbia to battle the 275 forest fires burning in the area, Farnworth said.
“The crews here from Mexico are top rate, incredibly skilled … We cannot thank the Mexican government enough for assisting us,” Farnworth added.
Thousands evacuated as wildfires spread
The rapid spread of the Bootleg Fire put more than 2,000 people in the surrounding area under some form of evacuation orders as the fire has grown to become Oregon’s third-largest since 1900.
“It’s kind of a dubious honor,” Oregon Department of Forestry spokesperson Marcus Kauffman said Thursday of the fire that was started July 6 by lighting.
Nevada on Thursday received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fight the fire after requesting assistance earlier that day.
“At the time of the request, the fire threatened approximately 800 homes in and around Holbrook Junction,” FEMA said Friday in a news release. “The fire also threatened a water treatment plant, power distribution lines and substations, cellular communications towers, and U.S. Highway 395.”
Wildfires prompt additional emergency declarations
In California, where nine large fires are currently active, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday declared a state of emergency in four northern California counties due to the hasty spread of flames.
Butte and Lassen counties are under states of emergency prompted by the state’s largest fire, the Dixie Fire, the governor said in a news release. The Dixie and Fly fires have pushed officials to put Plumas County under the emergency declaration as well as Alpine County due to the Tamarack Fire.
The Tamarack Fire also prompted Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak to put Douglas County under an emergency declaration Friday.
“Now, more than ever we must stand united and use all our available resources to combat this growing threat in order to help our fellow Nevadans receive the aid they need,” Sisolak said in a news release.
A state of emergency allows officials to access more funds and resources.
CNN’s Sahar Akbarzai, Alexandra Meeks, Sarah Moon, Stella Chan, Jenn Selva, and Andy Rose contributed to this report.