More than 20,000 people in southwest Canada and the western United States have fled their homes as wildfires, fueled by hot, dry weather, burn more than 3 million acres.
As of Aug. 9, the National Interagency Fire Center reported 183 wildfires burning across the United States, including eight large new ones. Firefighters were working to contain 94 of those blazes, the agency said.
The Wrights Spring Fire in southern Oregon has burned more than 30,000 acres since it started Aug. 5 and claimed the life of a first responder. Jason Ensign, 47, from Klamath Falls, Oregon, was operating a bulldozer to improve access to the fire when it unexpectedly grew. Rescue crews later found him dead.