Smoke was lifting over the Okanogan Complex fire improving visibility and

The biggest fire burning Monday was in Okanogan County on the Canadian border, where a group of five fires raging out of control became the largest in state history, scorching more than 400 square miles, fire spokesman Rick Isaacson said.

That’s slightly more than last year’s Carlton Complex blazes, which also were sparked by lightning and burned in Okanogan County.

The flames that claimed the lives of three firefighters, injured 4 others and burned 200 houses additionally impressed an outpouring of volunteers who’ve been invited for the primary time in state historical past to assist battle the blazes.

Spokeswoman Suzanne Flory says visibility has improved and so has air quality, but so far fire activity has not heated up.

“It keeps a lid on things and kind of reduces fire behavior a little bit, but at the same time when it’s so smoky we can’t fly aircraft”, said Todd Pechota, an incident commander in Okanogan, Washington.

The fires grew by more than 67 square kilometres on Sunday and are expected to spread even more in coming days.

Containment of the Thompson fire in the backcountry of Glacier Park is now up to 20 percent.

Chief Fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek says the smoke nearly takes on the same quality as cloud cover, and absorbs heat.

Oregon and Washington have called up National Guard troops to assist fire crews.

Dozens of fire managers and firefighters from Australia and New Zealand reported to the Fire Center’s headquarters on Monday, preparing for deployment to aid in fighting numerous wildfires in Washington state, Cozakos said. Two hundred Army servicemembers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord have also joined the fire effort.

On Sunday evening, the state Department of Health said that should nearby wildfires reach the site of a now-defunct uranium mine in Stevens County in eastern Washington, the smoke won’t be any more toxic than the standard smoke from a wildfire.

Three firefighters were killed battling a portion of the Okanogan fire last week and 1,250 people are now helping quell the blaze.

About 70 firefighters from Australia and New Zealand have arrived in Boise, Idaho, and are scheduled to receive protective gear before heading out to fight fires burning all over the West.

One of the latest western blazes was a potentially destructive fire that erupted Sunday afternoon in California’s San Bernardino Mountains.

Evacuation orders are in place for up to 500 homes in the area, and all schools in the district were closed on Monday.