Publication Date August 2, 2016 | OregonLive

Low humidity, windy weather challenge Oregon wildfire crews

United States
A sign in Unity on Sunday afternoon, July 31, 2016. Called the Rail fire, the blaze broke out Sunday afternoon in Eastern Oregon has firefighters busy. Photo: Les Zaitz/The Oregonian
A sign in Unity on Sunday afternoon, July 31, 2016. Called the Rail fire, the blaze broke out Sunday afternoon in Eastern Oregon has firefighters busy. Photo: Les Zaitz/The Oregonian

The weather during the next few days could provide more challenges to firefighting crews as they work to extinguish a number of wildfires in the state.

Officials at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center say they are paying particularly attention to winds and humidity levels this week as crews tackle at least four fires in the state. Oregon is hardly alone: Wildfires have burned up more than 447,000 acres in a dozen states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

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The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings for numerous counties in southeast Oregon.

Meanwhile, crews have continued to battle the Weigh Station, Rail, Bybee Creek and Whitney wildfires. Their causes remain under investigation, according to online monitors.

The Rail fire has grown from an estimated 700 acres on Monday to 2,043 acres on Tuesday, according to the Incident Information System. Matt Burks, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, has said the fire is located in a remote area of eastern Oregon about 10 miles southwest of the small town of Unity