As another wildfire with a natural cause, lightning, the Bootleg Fire sparked on July 6, 2021, near Beatty, Oregon. It is the third-largest fire the state has seen since 1900. The Bootleg Fire had burnt 413,765 acres before being entirely contained on August 15, 2021. During the fire's most rapid growth in mid-July, it grew at about 1,000 acres per hour, becoming the second-largest wildfire in the U.S. of the 2021 wildfire season. On July 19, 2021, the Bootleg Fire merged with the smaller Log Fire to the east. As the wildfire burned east, it approached the Mitchell Monument, a memorial to the civilians killed in the U.S. during World War II. To preserve the historic site, the crews of firefighters trimmed low-hanging tree branches and built a fire line around the monument site. At the most challenging point, there were over 2,200 firefighters striving to contain the fire.
There were several hundred square miles of southern Oregon, in Klamath and Lake counties, under evacuation orders of various degrees of severity as a result of the Bootleg Fire. The damage caused by the wildfire is terrible – 408 buildings were destroyed by it, including 161 houses and 247 outbuildings, and the fire also destroyed 342 vehicles. The wildfire significantly contributed to haze across the country and striking red sunsets as far away as Boston and New York City. The heat and smoke from the Bootleg Fire created pyrocumulus and pyrocumulonimbus clouds, some reaching as high as 45,000 feet and bringing with them lightning strikes and precipitation. There were even reports of small fire whirls, and authorities believed that at least one actual fire tornado formed in the southeastern region of the fire on July 18. The fire was named after the nearby Bootleg Spring.
The wildfire sparked in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, roughly 15 miles northwest of the town of Beatty, and it encompassed 650 square miles at its most destructive point, generating its own weather system. Even after the wildfire was contained, there were still 29 large wildfires burning across 887,069 acres in Oregon and Washington, with over 8,000 firefighters trying to extinguish them. Because the Bootleg Fire was closing in on the rural population in the area, the following communities were advised to evacuate, but some of the residents refused to do so:
The Bootleg Fire has forced at least 2,000 residents from mostly rural areas to evacuate their homes. At least 160 houses and buildings have been destroyed, but no deaths have been reported. Witnesses described the intensity of the wildfire as that of a hurricane, saying that it was ripping trees out of the ground. During the evacuation, two centers had been set up for residents in multiple cities, including Klamath Falls and Redmond.
We advise everyone who has been affected by the Bootleg Fire to seek financial compensation by filing a claim with their insurer, as the policy does not usually cover the aftermath of wildfires. Because people should be entitled to receiving free help after a wildfire – something out of their control – has taken everything or nearly everything from their possession, we encourage you to file a claim as well. However, before you file a claim, it is a wise idea to verify your eligibility, a process that will speed up everything. To become eligible to file a wildfire claim, you must meet one of these criteria:
It is important to know that you will receive financial compensation only for what is not covered by your insurance in the event of a wildfire. The majority of insurers do not cover vegetation outside of your property, financial compensation for the distress caused by the wildfire, and natural vegetation. Regardless of whether you are a renter, homeowner, or business owner, you have the legal right to take action and pursue financial compensation to cover your losses and damage.
With nearly 30 years of experience, our team of experts is here to gladly assist you with evaluating your case to determine whether you qualify for filing a wildfire claim. The process is very easy for you, as you only have to give our team a phone call, describe your situation, answer some questions, and send us evidence of your injuries or property damage.
After a careful assessment, we will establish whether you are entitled to compensation. If you are, we will promptly recommend a skilled and experienced attorney to further help you with the legal process. Eventually, you will benefit from the financial compensation you are eligible for, which should cover the losses the Bootleg Fire has caused you.