'The most extreme you can find:' Bootleg Fire explodes, homes lost to still-growing inferno
This story was updated at 3:15 p.m. July 11
The Bootleg Fire burning in southern Oregon exploded for the fifth day in a row Saturday afternoon, leading to the rare step of police citing and arresting people attempting to enter or stay in the evacuation zone northeast of Klamath Falls.
The fire was mapped at 143,607 acres Sunday morning after the fire burned through homes north of Beatty, brought life-threatening risk to firefighters and spewed hazardous smoke across southern Oregon.
The fire is threatening approximately 1,200 structures and is 0% contained. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Forestry officials reported 926 personnel are tackling the wildfire with three hotshot crews, six type two initial attack crews, 10 type two crews, 10 helicopters, six dozers, 83 engines and 25 water tenders.
Conditions aren't expected to improve, with the National Weather Service in Medford warning of yet another day of explosive growth given temperatures near 100 and extreme drought.
“The fire behavior we are seeing on the Bootleg Fire is among the most extreme you can find and firefighters are seeing conditions they have never seen before," fire incident commander Al Lawson said.
"Conditions today were so extreme that firefighters needed to disengage and move to predetermined safety zones," he added. "Fire managers evaluated conditions and looked for opportunities to reengage firefighters safely."
The fire grew both to the east and north on Saturday. It moved through the Sycan Estates, crossed the East-West road and burned an additional 8 miles along a high-voltage powerline, forestry officials said. Some structures have been lost, but no fatalities have been reported.
Fire conditions became so unsafe that the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office said it took the rare step of "citing or arresting those who remained in or were trying to re-enter the Level 3 evacuation areas in the Bootleg Fire Area," the agency said in a news release.
Southern Oregon, however, was already seeing decreased air quality, including unhealthy air at Crater Lake National Park and a lake that appeared shrouded in smoke.
Containment efforts will continue through Sunday and more crews will be added to the night shift because weather conditions are better for fighting fire and building containment lines, officials said. After Saturday's fire growth, crews are looking for new locations for safe and effective containment lines around the fire perimeter.
Firefighters will get little relief from the weather, which is expected to remain in upper 90s to 100s through the middle of next week.
The fire behavior is so extreme there is fear of the fire creating a pyro-cumulus cloud that can create its own weather and could include lightning strikes and wind in an area suffering from extreme drought.
In addition to homes in the fire's path, the blaze is also heading toward landmarks such as Summer Lake and the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness.
The sole good news reported Sunday morning was that on the south and west side of the fire, lighter winds and fuels allowed firefighters, structure protection teams and air support to be successful in minimizing fire growth toward the south toward communities such as of Klamath Forest Estates, Moccasin Hills and Tablelands. Western movement of the fire toward Chiloquin was also minimal.
Jack Fire updates
The Jack Fire burning in the North Umpqua Canyon east of Roseburg was estimated at nearly 11,000 acres Sunday with 10% containment.
Nearly 800 firefighters are attempting to suppress the blaze, which is spreading on both sides of Highway 138. Personnel includes four aircraft, five dozers and 44 engines. Crews are facing steep terrain and poison oak-related difficulties, according to forestry officials.
There have already been eight injuries reported and 243 structures threatened, forestry officials said.
The wildfire, which ignited July 5, quickly reached an estimated 5,400 acres by Friday, and the nearly doubled by Saturday morning reaching 9,333 acres.
