Publication Date August 22, 2017 | Statesman Journal via Associated Press

Southern Oregon's Chetco Bar fire now nation's 'top priority wildfire'

United States
Photo taken above the Chetco Bar fire in southern Oregon August 17, 2017. Photo: U.S. Forest Service
Photo taken above the Chetco Bar fire in southern Oregon August 17, 2017. Photo: U.S. Forest Service

Evacuation notices remained in place Tuesday for the lightning-sparked fire that began July 12 and has grown rapidly in the past week to more than 150 square miles (388 square kilometers).

The state's largest active blaze is burning in the scar of the 2002 fire that remains seared in the memory of those living along the Oregon-California border.

The National Interagency Fire Center labeled the Chetco Bar Fire the “top priority fire” in the country. The designation increases the availability of resources to officials determining how to handle the incident.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved federal money to help reimburse the cost of the firefighting effort.