Thousands of firefighters across the western U.S. are battling nearly 100 fires that are raging throughout several states over a total of 1.1 million acres.
The fires, made worse by high temperatures and drought conditions, mean those on the front lines are facing treacherous, and sometimes deadly conditions. Washington Governor Jay Inslee has called the fires an "unprecedented cataclysm" for the state after three firefighters died battling a wildfire on Wednesday. "We know that these fires have burned a big hole in our state’s heart," he said.
On Friday, President Obama signed an emergency declaration for the state, freeing up federal funding to battle the blazes.
Many of those fighting the flames are young men -- and some women -- in their early 20's, tasked with the grueling work of back burning brush and sawing down trees and in an effort to halt the progress of fast moving fires. They work in shifts as long as 24 hours in teams of about a dozen deployed to different fronts of a particular blaze.
Mashable found dozens of the firefighters who are using social media to document their backbreaking work.
Garth Chambers, for example, is one of hundreds of firefighters battling the wildfires in Washington. He posted photos of the Chelan wildfire earlier this week on Instagram.
Massive burnout operation on echo ridge to save #chelan A photo posted by Garth Chambers (@gchambers_17) on Aug 21, 2015 at 8:26am PDT
#GishRd fire Ryan Whitmore with the action shot A photo posted by Garth Chambers (@gchambers_17) on Aug 21, 2015 at 8:51am PDT
Paul Collins, another Washington firefighter, was nearby. He posted a photo from the Chelan fire that showed scorched earth in every direction.
A photo posted by paulcollins83 (@paulcollins83) on Aug 20, 2015 at 9:58pm PDT
A photo posted by paulcollins83 (@paulcollins83) on Aug 18, 2015 at 9:12pm PDT
Fought some more fire up in Chelan Friday, crazy day/night, #B22 #ChelanFire #FigherFighter A photo posted by Stephanie Preheim (@stephpreheim) on Aug 16, 2015 at 10:52pm PDT
Others battling the 95 wildfires that are burning in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Colorado shared photos, too. We've collected some of the most striking below.
Got to be a Sawyer for the Cougar Creek fire!!! A photo posted by Elvis Sampson (@swiftlilndn) on Aug 20, 2015 at 3:51pm PDT
The things my job has to offer #myjobisbetterthanyours#helicopter#2015fireseason#hotline#california#flying#ilovemyjob#wildland_firefighters#viewfromthetop A video posted by Tyler Carrillo (@tyler_carrillo84) on Aug 18, 2015 at 10:46pm PDT
The #Incrediblehulk and #Jerry heading off to fight the #Chelancomplex and #twisp #wildlandfire #n164ac #n247ac #ht736 #HT743 #helibase #heliporn #helitanker #helitack #skycrane #skyporn #s64 #wildandfirefighting #wildlandfirefighter #sikorsky #helicopter #helicopterpilot #avgeek #chelan #chelanwa #wa #erickson #wildfire #aviation #firefighting #firefighter A video posted by Bart Dorman (@bart_dorman) on Aug 20, 2015 at 12:09pm PDT
Baby boy sending some sort of #codedmessage to his girl #wedontneednowater #mopsquad #wildlandfirefighters #wildlandfirefighter #fire #intheblack #dayscreek #oregon #stoutsfire back in Hotel, day one of our 14 day extension, week 3. #wildlife #ontheline #torchin A photo posted by Gallo (@rooster1050) on Aug 19, 2015 at 9:10pm PDT
Walking out after digging line up the side of this mountain to tie in 2 dozer lines, and contain some hotspots. Despite our small crew we do work on and off the engine. #wildfire #firefighters_daily #fire #wildlandfirefighter #chiefmiller A photo posted by Timothy Mayhew (@tmayhew27) on Aug 21, 2015 at 7:41am PDT
16 hours and 10 miles of dozer line later our day is done. Taking on our last stand on cooper mountain against the chelan complex fire before it reaches the town 7 miles south. Holding up so far and now it's up to the crews to secure it. #coopermountain #chelancomplex #wildlandfirefighting #dozercrew A photo posted by Robin Dittrich (@robindittrich) on Aug 19, 2015 at 11:42pm PDT
Fought some more fire up in Chelan Friday, crazy day/night, #B22 #ChelanFire #FigherFighter A photo posted by Stephanie Preheim (@stephpreheim) on Aug 16, 2015 at 10:52pm PDT
The closest thing to an angel I have seen has 6 blades and a 20,000 lbs payload. Taking a second to grab some food and get our next mission after a burnout involving firewhirls and spot fires. At the end of this shift we had worked 35 of the past 39 hours. A photo posted by Eli Peterson (@eli.jp) on Aug 21, 2015 at 4:30am PDT
578th EN A Co CNA-1 (Aztecs) leading the way!!! #california#Wildfires#mission#fight A photo posted by (@jp_2ltt) on Aug 19, 2015 at 10:11pm PDT
We saved a few houses. Lost a few. It was a long day. #firefighting #okanogancomplex #wildfires A photo posted by Tristan Baurick (@tristanbaurick) on Aug 19, 2015 at 10:30pm PDT
#squad #firefighting #wildland #fire #oregon A photo posted by Sean Tipton (@tiptonsean) on Aug 20, 2015 at 3:13pm PDT
#wildland #firefighting #handcrew #20manstrong #cutting #handlines #backfireing #hiking #addventures #crazy #hardwork A photo posted by jamieaames (@jamieaames) on Aug 20, 2015 at 8:53pm PDT
Another day shift in the books. Time to go in for debriefing and dinner. #chelancomplex #wildlandfirefighting #wildlandfire #statemob #EasternWashington A photo posted by Daniel Esmond (@danesmond) on Aug 17, 2015 at 7:51pm PDT
Welcome to my office. #wildland #firefighting #willaminacreekfire A photo posted by Kate Bishop (@bishhhplz) on Aug 21, 2015 at 5:14am PDT
On the line, it's hot, dangerous, dirty, wet, and sometimes it smells. But the several days I've been on the fire have been really great. I've learned lots so far and made some good friends. Can't wait till the next fire! #wildfire #toohottohandle #burnbabyburn #firefighting A photo posted by Daniel Radu (@rad_dan) on Aug 18, 2015 at 10:38pm PDT
Soda Fire, Idaho. An 8 mile Iong burnout in attempt to stop the oncoming flaming front. A photo posted by Eli Peterson (@eli.jp) on Aug 20, 2015 at 5:04am PDT