The Bootleg fire is so big that it generates its own climate and puts hundreds of thousands of people on alert

Fueled by the successive and unusual heat waves and the unprecedented drought in several western states, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon has intensified so much in recent days that it has created its own microclimate.

The flames have so far ravaged 537 square miles, an area larger than Los Angeles and about half the size of Rhode Island.

By Monday it had exceeded 364,110 burned acres and was only 30% contained, Oregon Forest Department spokesman Marcus Kauffman told CNN.

The fire is "so big and generates so much energy and extreme heat that the climate is changing. Normally, the weather predicts what the fire will do. In this case, the fire is predicting what the weather will do," Kauffman explained.

Bootleg fire raging in Oregon AP

One of the main characteristics it is showing is an "aggressive surface spread, with pyrocumulus development," said the authorities trying to control it.

Pyrocumulus is a type of cloud of vapor and particles created by fire that occurs in extremely hot conditions during a fire or volcanic eruption.

These clouds can trigger their own thunderstorms and contain lightning and high winds.

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The prolonged drought is fueling the conditions to stoke the fire, so the meteorologist anticipated that the huge fire would continue to grow.

"The fire is burning dense fuels that are extremely dry from a prolonged drought. Until today, the weather has been consistently hot and dry, with almost single-digit humidity," Kauffman said.

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Bootleg is one of eight major fires active in Oregon and one of more than 80 burning in 13 states across the country, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

The climatic emergency has caused the appearance of the most deadly and destructive forest fires to be constant.

It began on July 6 in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, near the California border, and has wiped out just about everything in its path.

More than 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the advance of the flames, according to the person in charge of public information of the fire, Sarah Gracey.

A total of 67 homes and 117 minor structures, such as sheds or detached garages, have been destroyed, Gracey said.

Firefighters Fight BootlegAP Fire

Much of the West remains under fire threat Tuesday, where nearly 3.5 million people are under the red flag, the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center explained on Twitter.

This warning means that where there are fires, the weather conditions are critical or will be in a short period of time.

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The excessive heat alert also affects 337,000 people, while another 650,000 are under a heat advisory due to the influence of the fire.

In the next 48 hours, the region will continue with temperatures up to 10 degrees above normal, according to CNN meteorologist Michael Guy.

The possibility of dry storms is not ruled out, although they will lack much-needed rains to douse the flames.

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Bootleg has spread at an average rate of nearly 1,100 acres per hour for more than 13 consecutive days, a rate that would burn through New York's Central Park in just 45 minutes.

The forecast indicates that fighting the flames will remain arduous, with gusts of up to 25 miles per hour expected in the next two days, according to Guy.

Bootleg is the third largest wildfire in state history, Kauffman said.

The Long Draw fire burned a total of 557,028 acres in 2012 and is the largest wildfire in Oregon since 1900. Biscuit became the second-largest fire in the state in 2002, burning nearly 500,000 acres.

With information from CNN and The New York Times