With rising temperatures and thunderstorms in the forecast, it’s likely to get worse before it gets better, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and officials with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources said at a media briefing.
Meanwhile, in California, fire crews on Friday had a massive wildfire 30% contained and had managed to carve firebreaks around much of the week-old blaze.
The McKinney Fire destroyed much of the small hamlet of Klamath River near the Oregon border and killed four people, whose identities haven't been confirmed by authorities.
The blaze forced thousands from their homes and destroyed more than 100 buildings, including at least 87 residences, authorities said at a Friday night community meeting.
The fire hasn't advanced much for days as thunderstorms dumped brief but heavy rain on the fire's eastern flanks and more firefighting resources were sent to battle the blaze, which has burned about 93 square miles (241 square kilometers).
However, some of the storms didn't produce much rain but released gusty winds that drove flames — especially when the blaze first erupted on July 29 — and lightning that sparked dozens of smaller blazes, which firefighters managed to prevent from spreading.
Forecasts were calling for triple-digit temperatures and plunging humidity levels this weekend, along with possible winds that could create conditions for further wildfire growth.
“The conditions Sunday and Monday are going to be almost identical to when this fire started," fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns said. “The biggest fear is that ... we have a jackpot of unburned fuel within the fire perimeter."
The concern is that the tinder-dry trees and brush could burn so hot that they create a towering pillar of smoke that can make its own weather, including lightning, Burns said.
California and much of the rest of the West is in drought and wildfire danger is high, with the historically worst of the fire season still to come. Fires are burning throughout the region.
The Moose Fire in Idaho as of Friday had burned more than 105 square miles (273 square kilometers) in the Salmon-Challis National Forest near the town of Salmon. Steep terrain and extremely dry fuel conditions were continuing to pose challenges for firefighters but officials said firefighters were hoping to extend and strengthen containment lines with more favorable weather forecast in the next few days.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. California has seen its largest, most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the last five years.
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Associated Press reporters Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Haven Daley in Klamath River, Calif., and Lisa Baumann in Seattle contributed to this report.
This photo provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows smoke from a wildfire burning south of Lind, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Sheriff's officials are telling residents in the town of Lind in eastern Washington to evacuate because of a growing wildfire south of town that was burning homes. (Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
This photo provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows smoke from a wildfire burning south of Lind, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Sheriff's officials are telling residents in the town of Lind in eastern Washington to evacuate because of a growing wildfire south of town that was burning homes. (Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
Credit: Uncredited
A chimney stands at a home destroyed by the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
A chimney stands at a home destroyed by the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
A helicopter drops water on a hot spot while battling the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
A helicopter drops water on a hot spot while battling the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Sydney Corrales passes a lodge that burned during the McKinney Fire, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Sydney Corrales passes a lodge that burned during the McKinney Fire, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Flames burn inside a tree along Highway 96 which remains closed due to the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Flames burn inside a tree along Highway 96 which remains closed due to the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
In this photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is the washed away pick up truck of a private contractor who was aiding the firefighting efforts near Klamath River, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Amid storms Tuesday the contractor was hurt when a bridge gave out and washed his pickup truck away, said Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson with the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office. The McKinney Fire was still out of control on Wednesday despite some progress by firefighters who took advantage of thunderstorms that dumped rain and temporarily lowered heat in the parched region. (Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
In this photo released by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office is the washed away pick up truck of a private contractor who was aiding the firefighting efforts near Klamath River, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Amid storms Tuesday the contractor was hurt when a bridge gave out and washed his pickup truck away, said Courtney Kreider, a spokesperson with the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office. The McKinney Fire was still out of control on Wednesday despite some progress by firefighters who took advantage of thunderstorms that dumped rain and temporarily lowered heat in the parched region. (Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
Credit: Uncredited
Sheriff's deputies search a scorched residence following the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. Their team did not find any fire victims at the property. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's deputies search a scorched residence following the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. Their team did not find any fire victims at the property. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
A helicopter carries a water bucket while battling the McKinney Fire, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
A helicopter carries a water bucket while battling the McKinney Fire, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Timber walks past the remains of a lodge that burned in the McKinney Fire, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. The property owner, whose adjacent home survived the blaze, was surveying damage. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Timber walks past the remains of a lodge that burned in the McKinney Fire, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. The property owner, whose adjacent home survived the blaze, was surveying damage. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
A sheriff's deputy searches a scorched property following the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. His team did not find any fire victims at the location. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
A sheriff's deputy searches a scorched property following the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. His team did not find any fire victims at the location. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's deputies search a scorched residence following the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. Their team did not find any fire victims at the property. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's deputies search a scorched residence following the McKinney Fire on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. Their team did not find any fire victims at the property. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's Deputy Johnson carries remains of a McKinney Fire victim from a destroyed home on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's Deputy Johnson carries remains of a McKinney Fire victim from a destroyed home on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
A search and rescue canine leaves a home leveled by the McKinney Fire on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
A search and rescue canine leaves a home leveled by the McKinney Fire on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's Deputy Johnson stands at a burned home as search and rescue workers recover the remains of a McKinney Fire victim on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's Deputy Johnson stands at a burned home as search and rescue workers recover the remains of a McKinney Fire victim on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's deputies leave a home where a McKinney Fire victim was found on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Sheriff's deputies leave a home where a McKinney Fire victim was found on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, in Klamath National Forest, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Credit: Noah Berger
Credit: Noah Berger
The Elmo Fire burns near Elmo and Dayton, Mont., on the western shore of Flathead Lake on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
The Elmo Fire burns near Elmo and Dayton, Mont., on the western shore of Flathead Lake on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
Flames from the Elmo Fire burn around Dayton, Mont., on the western shore of Flathead Lake on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
Flames from the Elmo Fire burn around Dayton, Mont., on the western shore of Flathead Lake on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
An aircraft dumps water on the edge of the Elmo Fire burning on the western shore of Flathead Lake, Mont., on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
An aircraft dumps water on the edge of the Elmo Fire burning on the western shore of Flathead Lake, Mont., on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
A plane dumps fire retardant to contain the Elmo Fire burning on the western shore of Flathead Lake, Mont., on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
A plane dumps fire retardant to contain the Elmo Fire burning on the western shore of Flathead Lake, Mont., on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022. (Hunter D'Antuono/Flathead Beacon via AP)
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
Credit: Hunter D'Antuono
This photo provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows smoke from a wildfire burning south of Lind, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Sheriff's officials are telling residents in the town of Lind in eastern Washington to evacuate because of a growing wildfire south of town that was burning homes. (Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
This photo provided by the Washington State Department of Transportation shows smoke from a wildfire burning south of Lind, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Sheriff's officials are telling residents in the town of Lind in eastern Washington to evacuate because of a growing wildfire south of town that was burning homes. (Washington State Department of Transportation via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
Credit: Uncredited
