Firefighters are using army helicopters to battle wildfires that have been raging for five days in Washington state.

National Guard Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters have been pulling water from nearby lakes and dropping it over the flames.

The blaze has been raging near the city of Cle Elum for the past five days. Authorities there have reported over 70 homes and two hundred other structures have been damaged so far.

The fire has scorched nearly 23,000 acres of rolling hills along the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries on Wednesday.

Dozens of other wildfires are also burning across ten drought-parched U.S. states. So far this season, wildfires have consumed approximately 6.3 million acres across the country.