Fed by bone dry timbers, a massive wildfire dubbed the Bootleg blaze raged across an Oregon forest, advancing five miles (8 km) a day against an army of firefighters as it scorched another 39,000 acres (15,783 hectares) on Saturday.
Driven by 30-mph wind gusts, by midafternoon it had burned more than 280,000 acres since starting on July 6 - consuming a forested area larger than New York City.
No clear prediction is available as to when the fire might be fully controlled, Kauffman said, but November is the estimate on the ODF's website. About 2,000 people have been evacuated from the area, said Nick Hennemann, another ODF spokesman. Flames destroyed at least 21 homes along with 54 other structures, and 5,000 homes are threatened.
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