Firefighters battling converging blazes in US state of Oregon

This photo taken by Talent, Oregon, resident Kevin Jantzer shows the destruction of his hometown (Kevin Jantzer/AP)

Hundreds of firefighters, aided by helicopters dropping fire retardant and water, battled two large wildfires that threatened to merge near the most populated part of the US state of Oregon, including the suburbs of Portland.

The number of people ordered to evacuate statewide because of fires rose to an estimated 500,000, more than 10% of the state’s 4.2 million people, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management reported late on Thursday.