The Bootleg Fire in Southern Oregon exploded in size overnight.
The blaze, which has been raging for more than five days, grew to more than 140-thousand acres Saturday night, fueled by large gusts of wind and dry tinder.
Fire authorities have sent out evacuation orders to residents in Klamath County, urging them to leave immediately.
Two firefighters have already lost their lives to the blaze.
Medford’s National Weather Service released a twitter statement Sunday morning warning that the fire has doubled in size each day for the last three days, and that extreme growth is also possible today.
“If you live in or near an evacuation area, get ready to leave,” the NWS said. “No possession is worth your life.”
Not only are lives at risk, but the fire is also threatening key infrastructure that helps power California’s energy grid by impacting transmission lines used to import energy.
In preparation, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Saturday that will free-up additional energy capacity for the state’s power grid.
Firefighters from Oakland, Freemont, Hayward and Alameda were deployed to Oregon on Friday to help contain the fire.
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