Largest wildfire in Oregon expands further; new evacuations

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters are scrambling to control an inferno in southeastern Oregon that’s spreading up to 4 miles a day in windy conditions as wildfires across the U.S. West strain firefighting resources.

Authorities expanded evacuations late Thursday along the eastern edge of the Bootleg Fire, currently the largest in the U.S., and worry it could merge with another blaze.

Dozens more fires were burning in 12 states. Among those was a new one near Paradise, California, the site of the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history.

That fire was posing little risk so far but survivors of the 2018 blaze were worried.