Hellish scenes as wildfires spread across western US

Dramatic footage captured by a driver near the Arizona-Utah border shows flames engulfing a hillside in hellish scenes that are mirrored across the western United States amid rampant wildfires.

Fire crews are battling blazes in extreme heat in states including Arizona, California and Oregon, where 150,000 acres have already burned. Record-setting temperatures and exceptionally dry ground – exacerbated by the climate crisis – are creating ideal conditions for the wildfires.

California is fighting its largest fire of the season, which is about 20 per cent contained, but has already burned some 90,000 acres of land.