Hot, dry weather encouraging western wildfires

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) - Firefighters have built a partial line around a fast-growing wildfire in southern Oregon that has destroyed structures and led to dozens of evacuations, fire spokeswoman Erica Hupp said.<br /> <br /> Crews were assessing the fire near Sprague River on Monday morning. The last measurement estimated the blaze at about 4 1/2 square miles, said Hupp.<br /> <br /> The wildfire started around 2 p.m. PDT Sunday in timber and brush and has destroyed an undetermined number of homes and structures.<br /> <br /> Before sundown Sunday, Klamath County sheriff's deputies evacuated more than 100 people from homes along two roads in the area.<br /> <br /> The blaze is just one of several major fires churning through the West.<br /> <br /> In Northern California, a wildfire has burned 6 square miles of forested land and destroyed 18 structures, CalFire officials said. Authorities believe the fire was sparked by the exhaust from a truck driven by a man delivering supplies to an illegal marijuana plot.<br /> <br /> The fire burning in steep terrain was just 15 percent contained on Sunday.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, the Mills Canyon Fire burning in central Washington has grown to 35 square miles.<br /> <br /> Firefighters strengthened containment lines around the fire near Entiat (EHN'-tee-aht) on Sunday, but they're still worried about the potential for dry lightning and wind to kick up the flames on Monday.<br /> <br /> Three dozen homes have been evacuated and residents of another 500 houses have been told to be prepared to leave if the fire gets closer.<br /> <br /> The South Central Oregon Fire Management Partnership said the wildfire near Sprague River was burning in the town's Moccasin Hill neighborhood.<br /> <br /> Hupp said crews were gathering more details about the types and numbers of structures burned, and crews are building fire lines.<br /> <br /> "There's still a lot of the fire that isn't lined," she said.<br /> <br /> The weather forecast calls for dry, hot afternoons in Washington and Oregon for the next week and that is expected to increase fire activity.<br /> <br /> "It is still actively burning," Hupp said of the Oregon fire. "We're going to see what the afternoon brings."<br /> <br /> She said that the blaze has been growing steadily because of high winds and extremely dry conditions. But fire teams were hoping that higher late-night humidity would help slow its growth.<br /> <br /> The Red Cross has set up a shelter at a community center in Sprague River, which is about 25 miles northeast of Klamath Falls.

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