San Francisco (AP)-The rapidly spreading wildfires south of Lake Tahoe forced the evacuation of a mountain town and cancelled extreme bike rides through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Thousands of riders and spectators were trapped on Saturday, eager to flee the area .

The Tamarack fire triggered by lightning on July 4 exploded overnight, spreading to approximately 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) and 6 miles (10 square kilometers) south of Markliville, a small town close to the California-Nevada border. Km). The authorities said it had destroyed at least 3 buildings. A notice posted on the 103-mile (165-kilometer) death cycling website stated that several communities in the area had been evacuated and ordered all riders to evacuate immediately.

On Friday, Kelli Pennington and her family were camping near the town so that her husband could take part in his ninth ride when told to pack up and leave. They watched the smoke spread throughout the day, but were caught off guard by the rapid spread of the fire.

“It happened so quickly,” Pennington said. “We left the tent, hammocks and some food, but we got most of the things, pushed our two children into the car and left.”

Saturday’s ride is supposed to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death ride, and every year it attracts thousands of cyclists to the area to ride through the three passes of the so-called California Alps.

The afternoon wind blows at 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 kilometers) per hour, and they chew on dry wood and brushes, which encourages the flames.

At the same time, the largest wildfire in the United States-burning in southern Oregon-increased significantly overnight as the dry and windy conditions in the area increased significantly, but as firefighters began to gain more control on its western flank, the hell The control more than tripled, the authorities said Saturday. However, the fire is still burning quickly and dangerously on its southern and eastern flanks, and the authorities have expanded evacuation in rural areas, mainly lakes and wildlife sanctuaries.

The red flag weather warning for strong winds and hot and dry weather continued until Saturday night.

Incident Commander Joe Hassel said: “This fire is so big and moving so fast that it spreads 4 to 5 miles every day.” “One of the many challenges our firefighters face every day is Work in a new country, and there may always be new dangers in this country.”

Extremely dry conditions and heat waves related to climate change have swept the area, making wildfires more difficult to extinguish. In the past 30 years, climate change has made the west warmer and drier, and will continue to make the weather more extreme, and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

In southern Oregon, firefighters have dealt with dangerous and extreme fire situations, including a huge “fire cloud” rising 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the fire site. Piracy fires have destroyed at least 67 houses and 117 outbuildings.

The fire has forced the evacuation of 2,000 people and threatened 5,000 buildings, including houses and smaller buildings, in rural areas north of the California border. Due to better conditions on the western edge of the fire, workers can drip water and flame retardants on the flames and ensure that the fire is interrupted. The fire control rate on Saturday has more than tripled.

National Weather Service warns of possible extension of thunderstorm From the California coast to northern Montana On Sunday, the “new lightning ignition” was probably due to the very dry fuel throughout the west.

Firefighters said in July that they are facing a more typical situation in late summer or autumn.

With the sudden emergence or rapid growth of new fires in Oregon and California, piracy fires expanded to 439 square miles (1,137 square kilometers) on Saturday, and were just one of many fires burning in the arid western United States.

According to the National Interagency Fire Protection Center, there are 70 active fires and multiple fires in the United States that have burned nearly 1,659 square miles (4,297 square kilometers). The US Forest Service stated that at least 16 fires have occurred in the Pacific Northwest alone.

A fire in the mountains of northeastern Oregon is also spreading rapidly, reaching 17 square miles (44 square kilometers) on Saturday. The Elbow Creek fire started on Thursday and prompted the evacuation of several small rural communities around the Rio Grande Ronde, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Walla Walla, Washington.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act to mobilize more firefighters and equipment to help put out the fire.

The Dixie fire was located near the deadliest fire site in the United States’ recent memory in 2018. It was controlled by 5% on Saturday and covered 39 square miles.The fire broke out in the Feather River Canyon northeast of Paradise, California. The survivors Horrible fire killed 85 people Watching the new flame burning vigilantly.

Officials ordered the evacuation of a wilderness recreation area and warned residents of the small eastern communities of Purga and Concor to prepare to leave.

“We are ready,” said Mike Garappo, a retired veteran. “We have been dealing with the fire on the mountain. We know it might not hit here, but we are prepared just in case.”