US: Oregon wildfire scorches over 2,73,000 acres destroying homes, 22 per cent contained

The wildfire in Oregon has scorched over 2,73,000 acres of land and has been contained by 22 per cent, according to the latest data by InciWeb. It is now the largest active fire in the country, and has displaced about 2,000 people. 

Raging wildfire in Oregon

A large cloud 'collapsed' that prompted additional evacuation for the communities of Summer Lake and Spring Lake in Lake County. Crews had to flee the fire lines of the Oregon blaze late Thursday after a dangerous “fire cloud” started to collapse. The fire has destroyed about 21 homes on the Oregon-California border that has been gripped by extreme drought. The Bootleg Fire has torched more than 2,73,000 acres since it first started in southern Oregon, according to the latest report from InciWeb. Rob Allen, Incident Commander for the Pacific Northwest Area Incident Management, in the

on July 16 said that "the Bootleg Fire perimeter is more than 200 miles long- that’s an enormous amount of line to build and hold". 

The blaze has forced evacuation of 2000 people and is threatening 5,000 buildings that include homes and smaller structures in a rural area in the north of the California border, according to AP. The National Weather Service in Medford has issued a Red Flag warning, which is in effect from 2 pm to 8 pm PDT Saturday. A fire weather watch has also been issued and is in effect from Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening. A Red Flag warning means that critical fire conditions either are occurring now or will occur shortly. 

IMAGE: AP

Inputs from AP