Wildfires in western US balloon in size amid hot and windy conditions

A pick-up truck and trailer destroyed by the McKinney fire in the community of Klamath River, California (Scott Stoddard/Grants Pass Daily Courier/AP)

Wildfires in California and Montana ballooned in size overnight amid hot and windy conditions and were quickly encroaching on neighbourhoods, forcing evacuation orders for more than 100 homes on Saturday, while a blaze in Idaho was spreading.

In California’s Klamath National Forest, the fast-moving McKinney fire, which started on Friday, went from charring just over one square mile (1 sq km) to scorching as much as 62 square miles (160 sq km) by Saturday in a largely rural area near the Oregon state line, according to fire officials.