Firefighters and emergency crews continued to battle dozens of large wildfires across the western United States and British Columbia, Canada, as hot, dry conditions and gusty winds helped blazes grow and prompted widespread evacuations.
Federal officials reported 183 new fires, including eight large ones, across the U.S. since Saturday, and said more than 30,000 personnel with over 640 crews were assigned to incidents. Fire managers were working on more than 94 large fires nationwide, the National Interagency Fire Center said on Sunday.
Utah remained one of the hardest-hit states. Nearly a dozen active wildfires had burned more than 300,000 acres by Sunday evening. The Rocky Canyon Fire, about 30 miles northeast of Salt Lake City, grew to roughly 2,800 acres and was not yet contained, triggering evacuations in Morgan County.
Two pilots died Friday when their helicopter crashed while fighting the Widemouth 2 Fire in Fishlake National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service confirmed. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox mourned the loss, saying the pilots put themselves in harm’s way to protect the state. The Widemouth 2 had burned more than 118,000 acres as of Sunday, making it the largest fire in the state this year and surpassing the Babylon Fire. Incident updates showed the Widemouth 2 at about 27% containment Sunday morning.
In Oregon, officials identified a bulldozer operator killed while battling the Wrights Spring Fire as Jason Ensign. That fire had scorched more than 33,000 acres and remained uncontained as of Sunday afternoon.
Large fires were also burning in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Colorado. In the Spokane, Washington, area, at least 60,000 people were ordered to evacuate as several fires burned more than 10,000 acres. Local officials reported “exceptional progress” in containment work Sunday but said crews were still searching for remaining heat sources that could threaten communities.
“An abnormally dry and warm winter has led to an extremely difficult fire season,” the U.S. Forest Service’s Fishlake National Forest said.
Across the border in British Columbia, the provincial wildfire service listed more than 100 active fires. High temperatures, gusty winds and forecasts for dry lightning raised the risk of new ignitions, especially in the central Interior and the Okanagan region. The Bald Range fire prompted a state of emergency and forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate.
B.C. Premier David Eby said authorities were focused on ensuring emergency crews had the resources they needed to protect residents. Fire managers in both countries urged people in threatened areas to follow evacuation orders and to expect that conditions could change quickly as weather and fire behavior evolve.