Oregon fire grows large enough to create its own weather as firefighters scramble to battle Western blazes
CBSN
Firefighters in the West are scrambling as wildfires threaten communities in Oregon, California and Washington, with Oregon's Durkee fire so large that it is creating its own weather. Twenty-four major fires were burning across Oregon under record-breaking dry conditions as the state entered its 76th day without rain Wednesday morning.
Amid the early and intense start to the fire season in the West, U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Holly Krake warned of "another monster of a fire year" in the Pacific Northwest.
"The forest and grasslands behind me are tinder dry, and when you add 2,000 lightning strikes in 48 hours, that's bound to cause really hot, intense and fast-moving wildfires," Krake told CBS News.

The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:

We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.











