- PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters)
- High winds helped spread a wildfire Wednesday that has so far destroyed
250,000 acres of forest in Oregon over the last three weeks and caused
residents of the tiny hamlet of Agness to start dousing their homes for
protection.
-
- The fire, ignited by lightning in mid-July near Oregon's
border with California, is now threatening the community of Agness about
90 miles south of Eugene, said Tom Valluzzi, an information officer for
the U.S. Forest Service.
-
- "We've put out an advisory that Agness residents
may have to evacuate within the next 24 to 72 hours," Valluzzi said.
The town has a population of 120.
-
- Wildfires in Oregon and the Northwest have been particularly
bad this year with arid weather helping fuel the flames that consume the
area's dense, oily bush, forests and grasslands.
-
- Residents of Agness said they saw gray smoke pouring
out of forests a few miles away and were dousing their homes to protect
them in case the fire reached their community.
-
- Firefighters are building a 141-mile fireline to help
contain the blaze and had just a few miles to go to complete a burnout,
which is a controlled fire set by fighters to contain the main forest fire.
-
- "We're concentrating on completing that burnout
today," said Valluzzi.
-
- A total of 4,727,730 acres have burned in the United
States so far this year, almost three times the 1,617,427 acres scorched
during the same period last year, making this one of the worst fire seasons
in recent memory.
-
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