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While the nation’s largest wildfire continues to rage in California, the most fires in the US are burning in Montana where hundreds of people have been forced to evacuate due to a particularly dangerous blaze, according to officials.
The Richard Spring Fire burning on Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeast Montana “has threatened multiple communities and infrastructure within the area,” according to InciWeb, the US clearinghouse for fire information.
“Fire behavior is extreme with wind driven runs and is burning in mainly brush, short grass, and timber,” InciWeb said. “The current weather conditions of high winds and low relative humidity combined with high temperatures are expected to continue and sustain or increase fire behavior.”
The Northern Cheyenne Disaster & Emergency Services and Rosebud County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that residents must evacuate due to the fire, which had charred 149,453 acres as of Wednesday. The fire was 15% contained.
Montana is home to 25 wildfires, the most in the nation, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Fire personnel are already bracing for increased activity in the West due to the insufferable heat and severe drought conditions. There are 105 wildfires active across 14 states, burning 2.4 million acres.
The Pacific Northwest is again under heat warnings as temperatures rise up to 25 degrees above normal.
Matthew Brown/AP
An aircraft drops fire retardant to slow the spread of the Richard Spring fire on August 11, 2021.
As the heat intensifies, the Dixie Fire in Northern California has scorched more than 500,00 acres as of Wednesday.
The fire, burning across four counties, has been steadily growing for the past month and was 30% contained Wednesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
“Firefighters continue to aggressively mop up hotspots within the fire perimeter to prevent any chance of embers or debris crossing the fire line,” Cal Fire said in its update. “Tactical patrols continue mitigating hazards to ensure the area is safe when residents return home. ”
The fire, California’s second-largest in state history, has destroyed 1,045 structures, including more than 550 homes and 140 commercial buildings. Another 69 structures have been damaged, and more than 15,000 structures remain at risk.
California’s wildfire season has been exacerbated by the severe drought condition and the climate change crisis.
Wildfires have so far ripped through more than 917,000 acres, which is a dramatic increase of 233% over the same period last year, becoming the state’s worst wildfire year on record, according to Cal Fire.
Matthew Brown/AP
A firefighter stands along the edge of the wildfire burning on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation on Aug. 11, 2021.
The West’s severe drought has not only ignited dozens of wildfires, but it also dried up water supplies.
In Utah, 32 of the state’s 42 largest reservoirs are below 55% of available capacity. The state’s overall storage capacity remained steady at 53%, according to a drought report from the state Department of Natural Resources.
Dry conditions have only gotten worse since the beginning of the year, with more than 99% of the state under the “extreme” drought designation, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is produced through a partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
More than 2.7 million people in the state are experiencing some form of drought, according to the monitor. The DNR said about 95% of Utah’s water comes from snowpack.
This time last year just over 10% was in “extreme” drought, with nowhere in the “exceptional” drought category,” the DNR said in the report.
“The benefits we saw from the recent rainstorms are wearing off with soils once again drying out,” said Utah Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Brian Steed in the report. “We have seen a measurable decrease in water use around the state, which helps keep more water in our reservoirs for later use.”
Water levels have also dropped in California, where the Edward Hyatt Power Plant at Lake Oroville – the state’s second-largest reservoir – has been forced to shut down last week for the first time since it opened in 1967.
Lake Oroville had plummeted to 24% of total capacity. That’s 10 percentage points below the reservoir’s historic average for August 5, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources.
Additionally, Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the US, fell to its lowest level on record since it was first filled more than 50 years ago.
Late last month, the lake fell to 33% according to the US Bureau of Reclamation, below the previous all-time low set in 2005.
CNN’s Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
