FIRES THREATENING INDIGENOUS LANDS IN NORTHWEST
Karuk tribal citizen Troy Hockaday Sr. watched helplessly last fall as a raging wildfire leveled the homes of five of his family members, swallowed acres of forest where his people hunt deer, elk and black bear, and killed a longtime friend.
Now, less than a year later, the tribal councilman is watching in horror as flames encroach on the parched lands of other Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest. At least two tribes have declared states of emergency amid the devastation.
Blazes in Oregon, California, and Washington were among nearly 70 active wildfires that have destroyed homes and burned through about 1,562 square miles in a dozen mostly Western states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center moved the Pacific Northwest region up to the highest alert level Wednesday — rare for this time of year — as dry, gusty winds were expected in parts of Oregon and new fires popped up.
In California, the Dixie fire was rapidly expanding Wednesday in the Feather River Canyon. State fire officials said the blaze, which erupted late Tuesday afternoon, covered 1.8 square miles. There was zero containment Wednesday evening.
The largest fire in the U.S. on Wednesday was burning in southern Oregon, to the northeast of the wildfire that ravaged Hockaday’s tribal community less than a year ago. The lightning-caused Bootleg fire was encroaching on the traditional territory of the Klamath Tribes and sending huge, churning plumes of smoke into the sky visible for miles.
The blaze, which has burned an area larger than New York City, has destroyed about 20 homes and 2,000 more are under evacuation, but much of it was burning in remote areas of the FremontWinema National Forest. On Wednesday, the fire was 5 percent contained.