[Epoch Times, July 21, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Gao Shan compiled a report) As hot and dry weather conditions continue to fuel wildfires in most parts of the United States, the so-called Bootleg Fire in Oregon has gained momentum. It became so violent that it created the climatic phenomenon of Pyrocumulus clouds by itself.
According to CNN, the fire has burned 606 square miles (approximately 1569.5 square kilometers) of land, which is larger than Los Angeles and about half the size of Rhode Island. .
According to data reported by the InciWeb website, from Monday (July 19) to Tuesday (July 20), the area of the fire grew to more than 388,350 acres (approximately 1571.6 square kilometers) overnight, of which only 30% were controlled.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, this is one of at least eight fires in Oregon and one of at least 83 fires in 13 states. The climate crisis has made more deadly and destructive wildfires the new normal.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown said at a press conference: “There is no doubt that climate change is happening before our eyes.” “We saw the Hot Dome incident a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, we were in that incident. Many Oregonians were lost in China. We saw a devastating ice storm in February. You know that more than half a million people lost power last fall. We experienced unprecedented wildfires.”
A tweet issued by the Weather Prediction Center of the National Weather Service stated that on Tuesday (July 20), most parts of the western United States were still under threat of wildfires, with more than 3.5 million people receiving calls. The red flag alert is dangerous. The warning center stated that the red flag warning means that “severe fire weather conditions are either happening or are about to happen.”
More than 337,000 people will continue to receive the ultra-high temperature warning, and nearly 650,000 people are within the high temperature warning range.
CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said that in the next 48 hours, the temperature in the area will remain 10 degrees above normal. There may also be dry storms. This kind of storm lacks precipitation, which is urgently needed to extinguish wildfires.
Gay said that although there may be sporadic rainfall throughout the region, “but it will not help much in fighting wildfires in the west.”
He said: “The afternoon storm may bring some rain, but it is not enough to stop or extinguish an ongoing fire.”
Bootleg Fire is changing the weather
Satellite images released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States show smoke from the mountain fires in western Canada and the western United States drifting over the area. Smoke from the fires in western Canada and the western mountains is churning over the area.
In Oregon, fire officials pointed out that the “boot barrel fire” now manifests itself as “with the development of Pyrocumulus clouds, it spreads rapidly on the surface.”
Pyrocumulus clouds are formed by the high temperature generated by the flames of wildfires, which forces the air to rise rapidly, condensing and cooling the moisture in the smoke particles produced by the flames. These clouds essentially become their own thunderstorms, which can contain lightning and strong winds.
Kaufman explained that the fire was “so huge, generating so much energy and extreme heat, that it is changing the weather”, “usually, the weather predicts the fire situation. In this case, It is the fire that foreshadows what will happen to the weather.”
The prolonged drought has also exacerbated the fire situation, and Kaufman predicts that this wildfire will continue to spread.
The third largest fire in Oregon history
Kaufman said that the “booth fire” is the third largest fire in the state’s history. The 2012 “Long Draw Fire” burned 557,028 acres (approximately 2254.2 square kilometers) of land, the largest fire in Oregon since 1900. The 2002 “Biscuit Fire” became the second largest fire in the state, burning nearly 500,000 acres (approximately 2023.4 square kilometers) of land.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
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