U.S. Wildfires Map, Update As Multiple Blazes Burn Across Oregon, California, Washington

By James Crump On 7/15/21 at 6:01 AM EDT

Wildfires continue to burn in several states along the West Coast, while Oregon and Washington have moved into the highest level of preparedness as they battle the blazes.

On Wednesday, Washington and Oregon moved into Preparedness Level 5, which according to the National Interagency Fire Center means they could experience "complex wildland fire incidents, which have the potential to exhaust national wildland firefighting resources."

The decision was made after the Oregon National Guard was deployed on Wednesday morning, as firefighters in the area continue to tackle the Bootleg Fire, which is only 5 percent contained after burning around 212,000 acres, according to the federal InciWeb wildfire tracking site.

The website states that the Bootleg Fire "remains very active with significant acreage increases due to hot, dry, and breezy conditions. Poor humidity recovery at night is contributing to active fire spread through the night time period. Robust spread rates are being generated by drought-affected fuels."

The National Guard was deployed on Wednesday to help with road closures and traffic control in areas affected by the fire, Liz Merah, press secretary for Oregon Governor Kate Brown, told CNN.

Oregon fire map — A map showing active fires in Oregon, provided by the National Interagency Fire Center. National Interagency Fire Center

The Bootleg Fire is the largest blaze currently burning across the U.S., but it is just one of 68 active wildfires. More than 1 million acres have been destroyed by the blazes not yet contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Most of the fires have been recorded in Arizona, Idaho and Montana—but Oregon, Nevada, California and Washington have also been badly affected as a summer heatwave and drought hit the West Coast.

Parts of California recorded temperatures of 130 F on Friday, close to the all-time world record of 134 F. Several areas of the West Coast reported conditions much warmer than is typical for this time of year.

There are five active large fires in Washington, which is up from three on Wednesday. Six continue to burn in Oregon and eight are yet to be contained in California.

Washington fire map — Active blazes currently burning in Washington state. National Interagency Fire Center

Data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shows that the number of wildfires so far this year is higher than for the same period in 2020.

Up to July 11, California had experienced 4,163 fires. The figure for 2020 was 3,645. Earlier this week, fire officials warned: "It's now more critical than ever that all Californians are prepared for wildfires."

California wildfires map — A map provided by California Fire showing active and contained blazes in the state this year. California Fire

The Beckwourth Complex Fire is the largest currently burning in California. It has burned through 95,747 acres, but is at least 73 percent contained, according to InciWeb.

Across the United States, more acres have burned this year compared to this point in 2019 and 2020. The country recorded 34,216 fires with 2,221,835 acres affected from January 1 to July 14, 2021, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

That compares to 27,941 fires and 1,710,408 acres for this period in 2020, and 22,507 fires and 2,113,793 acres in 2019.

Wildfires in Oregon — A firefighting plane drops retardant over the Grandview Fire on July 11, northeast of Sisters, Oregon. There are 68 large fires currently burning across the U.S. Oregon Department of Forestry via Getty Images

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