The largest fire on the continent has been raging in the Grand Canyon for over a month (video)

For more than a month, the United States has been fighting the large-scale Dragon Bravo wildfire, which has engulfed northern Arizona and is currently the largest active fire on the continental part of the country. The fire broke out on July 4 after a lightning strike. At first, the National Park workers tried to contain it, but the fire quickly got out of control, informs Gizmodo.

The rapid spread was caused by prolonged drought and gusty winds, which created favorable conditions for the spread of the flames. As of now, it was possible to localize only 13% of the outbreak. On August 5, the fire began to move in a northerly direction, so ground and air forces were involved in extinguishing it. The main goal is to direct the fire to a less dangerous area where it cannot spread. However, high temperatures and low humidity continue to fuel the flames.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the fire has reached such a scale that it forms its own weather conditions around itself. Over the epicenter, pyrocumulus clouds (pyrocumulus), which arise over sources of intense heat, have been observed for several days. They can either bring rain to help fight the fire, or create dangerous air currents that carry embers over long distances, provoking new ignition sources. Such phenomena can also cause the appearance of fire tornadoes.

The problem is aggravated by the lack of personnel in the agencies involved in the elimination of forest fires, due to the reduction of personnel. Meanwhile, climate change is contributing to an increase in extreme weather events, which continue to fuel the Dragon Bravo fire and worsen wildfire situations around the world.