Firefighters make progress against Oregon's massive Bootleg Fire

The Bootleg Fire.
(Image credit: Bootleg Fire Incident Command via AP)

Nearly a month after it was sparked by a lightning strike, the Bootleg Fire in Southern Oregon — the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. — is now 74 percent contained, officials said Sunday.

The blaze, which has burned more than 646 square miles since it started on July 6, was 56 percent contained on Saturday. Fire spokesman Al Nash told reporters on Sunday that the results "reflects several good days of work on the ground where crews have been able to reinforce and build additional containment lines."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.