"A fast-growing wildfire in south-central Oregon has forced more than 100 people to evacuate their homes and destroyed structures, officials said on Monday.

The blaze is the latest to strike in the drought-parched Western states as the summer fire season heats up.

The Oregon fire comes as California firefighters battle a 4,400-acre conflagration in a remote part of the state believed linked to an illegal marijuana growing operation, and smaller fires continue to burn throughout the West.

The so-called Moccasin Hill fire erupted Sunday afternoon in the Moccasin Hill subdivision north of Sprague River in south- central Oregon, forcing the Klamath County Sheriff's Department to evacuate people in nearby homes."

Shelby Sebens reports for Reuters July 15, 2014. [2]