EXTREME WILDFIRE ALARM

A brutal start to the wildfire season in the western US and Canada worsened as a massive Oregon blaze exploded in dry, windy conditions and a new California blaze threatened communities devastated by the 2018 Camp Fire.

Wildfire officials raised their preparedness level to the highest tier – the earliest such move in a decade – and Canada’s military joined evacuation efforts, as the region reels from the effects of consecutive heatwaves that experts say have been worsened by global warming.

“This fire is going to continue to grow – the extremely dry vegetation and weather are not in our favour,” said Joe Hessel, who is leading a team tackling Oregon’s 92,000ha Bootleg Fire.

The inferno is just one of about 70 large fires burning some 400,000ha in the US alone.