Fire officials deploy more tankers to battle western wildfires
Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Four C-130 military aircraft equipped with firefighting equipment have been deployed to battle a series of wildfires in the western United States as triple digit temperatures and low humidity readings combine to create conditions for blazes to spark and spread rapidly, government officials reported Sunday.
Two of the large tanker planes have been deployed from the Colorado Springs Airtanker base and the other pair from Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz.
There are currently 37 large wildfires burning across the United States, which have prompted officials to deploy 374 crews, 975 engines, 125 helicopters and 13 incident management teams to battle the blazes, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Nearly 43,000 fires have blackened more than 3.6 million acres across the country in 2025. That is nearly twice as many fires as last year, but the blazes this wildfire season have burned nearly half as many acres.
Forecasters predict wind gusts of up to 25 mph and single digit humidity readings in the Four Corners area will persist into the first part of the week, heightening the danger, creating conditions for fires to spread.
"Lighter winds, but still dry conditions are expected across the rest of the Great Basin and into the central Rockies," the NIFC said Sunday.
"Hot, above normal temperatures and low (relative humidity) will spread across most of California and southern Oregon away from the coast."
There are seven fires burning in California and Colorado, 6 in Arizona, 5 in Idaho and three fires each in Washington, Utah and Nevada.
Firefighters routinely battle challenging terrain in addition to the weather, making it especially difficult to contain fires in the most remote areas.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Fast-moving Tropical Storm Erin heads toward U.S., Caribbean
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Forecasters say Tropical Storm Erin is "moving quickly" as it strengthens and heads toward the western hemisphere. The seven-day weather forecast shows Erin with a maximum sustained wind speed of 45 mph, moving west at 20 mph, according to NOAA in a 2 p.m. EDT update. Officials in the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tropical Storm Erin was about 280 miles west by northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands in the central Atlantic Ocean near west Africa. It added Erin's storm coordinates show it heading west while some 2,305 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands to the Caribbean. "There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect," NWS officials said in its 2 p.m. update, given how far out to sea the storm is now. The "earliest reasonable" time of arrival for Erin to reach the Caribbean region is estimated to be at about Friday, according to forecasters. "It is far too early to determine what, if any, impacts for southeast Georgia and northeast Florida," NWS Jacksonville said Monday. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Fast-moving Tropical Storm Erin heads toward U.S., Caribbean
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Forecasters say Tropical Storm Erin is "moving quickly" as it strengthens and heads toward the western hemisphere. The seven-day weather forecast shows Erin with a maximum sustained wind speed of 45 mph, moving west at 20 mph, according to NOAA in a 2 p.m. EDT update. Officials in the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tropical Storm Erin was about 280 miles west by northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands in the central Atlantic Ocean near west Africa. It added Erin's storm coordinates show it heading west while some 2,305 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands to the Caribbean. "There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect," NWS officials said in its 2 p.m. update, given how far out to sea the storm is now. The "earliest reasonable" time of arrival for Erin to reach the Caribbean region is estimated to be at about Friday, according to forecasters. "It is far too early to determine what, if any, impacts for southeast Georgia and northeast Florida," NWS Jacksonville said Monday.
UPI
18 hours ago
- UPI
Fire officials deploy more tankers to battle western wildfires
The remains of one of the thousands of structures destroyed by four Southern California wildfires in Los Angeles County is seen along the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles in January. Hot, dry conditions across the West prompted officials to dispatch more crews to battle blazes Sunday. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Four C-130 military aircraft equipped with firefighting equipment have been deployed to battle a series of wildfires in the western United States as triple digit temperatures and low humidity readings combine to create conditions for blazes to spark and spread rapidly, government officials reported Sunday. Two of the large tanker planes have been deployed from the Colorado Springs Airtanker base and the other pair from Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz. There are currently 37 large wildfires burning across the United States, which have prompted officials to deploy 374 crews, 975 engines, 125 helicopters and 13 incident management teams to battle the blazes, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Nearly 43,000 fires have blackened more than 3.6 million acres across the country in 2025. That is nearly twice as many fires as last year, but the blazes this wildfire season have burned nearly half as many acres. Forecasters predict wind gusts of up to 25 mph and single digit humidity readings in the Four Corners area will persist into the first part of the week, heightening the danger, creating conditions for fires to spread. "Lighter winds, but still dry conditions are expected across the rest of the Great Basin and into the central Rockies," the NIFC said Sunday. "Hot, above normal temperatures and low (relative humidity) will spread across most of California and southern Oregon away from the coast." There are seven fires burning in California and Colorado, 6 in Arizona, 5 in Idaho and three fires each in Washington, Utah and Nevada. Firefighters routinely battle challenging terrain in addition to the weather, making it especially difficult to contain fires in the most remote areas.
