Hundreds of firefighters are battling a vicious blaze that's already consumed over 150,000 acres of Oregon land as of Monday morning (July 12), according to KATU.
The fast-spreading Bootleg Fire is ravaging Klamath County and threatening both homes and energy infrastructure in the area. As a result, some homes were forced to evacuate, and the county sheriff's office said they would cite and even arrest people, if necessary in the evacuation zones.
"We have advised people to evacuate over the last several days. Some have not listened to those warnings and continue to travel within the restricted area," authorities wrote on Facebook. "This violates the closure restrictions and interferes with firefighting and lifesaving efforts."
Crews were able to make some progress toward containment due to conditions slowing fire growth, according to a Monday morning post. Firefighters' efforts were hampered over the weekend due to bad conditions that forced crews to disengage early Saturday night (July 10). Helicopters and planes were also called in to assist in beating back the blaze, reporters said.
“We all have the same mission right now, and that is firefighter and public safety,” said Carol Connolly with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center.