Over 54 degrees Celsius in some regions of the US 3:48
(CNN) -
The terrible drought that has been suffocating much of the western United States for months got even worse this week.
Some areas in California and the Pacific Northwest have seen an expansion of drier conditions, which have fueled threatening wildfires throughout the region.
"There's no 'normal' anymore. We need to be prepared for anything," said Norm McDonald, Incident commander for the Bootleg Fire in Oregon.
It is the largest in the country, which began in early July and was only 53% contained as of Thursday.
Nearly half of California is currently experiencing an exceptional drought, which is the worst category according to the US Drought Monitor.
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Last week, just over a third of the state was in that category.
Now, almost 14.5 million people are affected.
This represents an increase of more than 50% from last week, according to monitoring.
This survey is conducted through a partnership between US government agencies and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
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Droughts and storms fuel fires
"Further expansion of moderate to exceptional droughts was introduced in parts of California and the Northwest, as agricultural, wildfire and water supply impacts continued to increase," the Drought Monitor determined.
The Pacific Northwest, specifically northern California, western Oregon and Washington state, is on alert, with elevated heat causing sweltering conditions, CNN meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.
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"There are also dry thunderstorms off the Pacific Northwest coast, which can start new fires," Shackelford said.
"The threat of dry thunderstorms will be there until at least Saturday, but it may extend into the weekend and into next week."
The historic drought in the western United States on 3 maps
California's wildfire season has been devastating and exacerbated drought conditions are sure to make it even worse.
Wildfires in California have burned about twice the number of acres destroyed at this time last year.
So far, six active wildfires in the state have burned 143,594 hectares, and the largest, the Dixie Fire, destroyed only 91,629 hectares.
Its containment remained at 23% through Thursday, with huge pockets of smoke reducing visibility, according to InciWeb, the US fire information chamber.
The Bootleg Fire
The drought is getting worse and is affecting Oregon.
Almost a quarter of the state is under exceptional drought, a record for the area.
This makes it difficult to control the huge Bootleg fire.
"Despite recent rain, fire activity increased yesterday," according to an InciWeb statement.
"Fire activity increased as the warm day dried out the fire faster and the wind gusts were stronger than expected."
Bootleg fire burns more than 120,000 acres in Oregon 1:14
The Bootleg has burned 167,355 hectares.
In addition, it destroyed more than 400 structures and 342 vehicles in its path, according to InciWeb.
"As we move outside the normal climatological range, previous experience is less relevant," said fire behavior specialist Chris Moore.
"The rain we get will not put out the fire. Stains will become a bigger problem as the fuels dry out again."
Biden and Harris meeting with governors over the fires
Overall, the dozens of large active wildfires have burned 683,918 acres in 13 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
So far this year, the fires have burned 1,416,399 hectares, the NIFC said.
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The devastation has prompted President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to schedule a meeting with seven governors whose states are experiencing the brunt of wildfires and drought.
This Friday's virtual meeting will be with Governors Greg Gianforte from Montana, Jay Inslee from Washington, Gavin Newsom from California, Brad Little from Idaho, Kate Brown from Oregon, Tim Walz from Minnesota and Mark Gordon from Wyoming.
The Tamarack fire
The plans for the meeting came after Newsom and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak implored the federal government Wednesday for more resources to fight dozens of wildfires across the West.
Nevada and California are the territory of the Tamarack Fire, which has burned 27,800 acres, while spreading on both sides of the state border.
Until this Thursday, it was 65% contained.
Firefighters narrowly escape the flames of the Tamarack fire
"We need help. We need help from the federal side. We need more people to come in. We need more resources. We need more air support. We need more people and more boots on the ground to make this a fairer fight in terms of fighting these fires," Sisolak said at a joint press conference with Newsom on Wednesday.
More fire fighting resources
The governors' meeting with Biden and Harris will discuss funding and investing in resources for wildland firefighters, including increasing pay and expanding the hiring of temporary firefighters.
In June, Biden signed an executive order that raised the minimum wage for federal firefighters to $ 15 an hour.
The meeting will also discuss efforts to strengthen forest fire prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response.
Additionally, it will discuss how an early and severe wildfire season is affecting residents and land in the states.
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A global problem
It is not just the United States facing the devastating impact of the climate crisis, which is making the deadliest and most destructive wildfires the new normal.
Wildfires have spread across southern Europe, including the Italian island of Sardinia, where nearly 1,000 people fled their homes due to the flames.
The island's local government declared a state of emergency and called the fires an "unprecedented disaster."
Smoke from fires in Australia cooled the oceans 0:36
And in Greece, about 50 fires were detected in two days this week, as the country grappled with a stubborn heat wave.
Meanwhile, in Russia, the far eastern region of Yakutia has seen more than 2.5 million hectares destroyed in wildfires since the beginning of the year, according to figures released by the country's Air Forest Protection Service.
In North America, the hundreds of wildfires in Canada are so intense that authorities in British Columbia brought in Mexican firefighters last week to help fight the blazes, authorities said.
Contributing to this report were Ella Nilsen, Cheri Mossburg, and Brandon Miller
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