PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Dramatic and devastating scenes are unfolding across the region as firefighting efforts ramp up against infernos raging across wildlands.
The largest of the conflagrations is Oregon’s Bootleg Fire, currently in Klamath and Lake counties near the California border, which is also currently the nation’s largest wildfire. Multiple evacuation levels are in effect for that fire.
However, several other fires are on the radar, including the Jack Fire in Douglas County, the Grandview Fire in Deschutes County and the Bruler Fire in Marion County, just south of Detroit Lake in the Santiam Canyon, an area in which much was destroyed in the catastrophic 2020 wildfires.
As of Tuesday, heavy smoke conditions are staying away from the Willamette Valley, but airport officials tell The Associated Press they’re facing jet fuel shortages, which will impact the ability of planes and helicopters that drop fire retardants and could endanger communities near wildfires.