Firefighters fighting the Park Fire in northern California have the more than 400,000-acre blaze 34% contained, though hot and dry conditions are expected to present a challenge in the coming days.

As of Monday morning, the Park Fire had burned 402,042, or 628,000 square miles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

On July 24, 42-year-old Ronnie Dean Stout II of Chico, California, was allegedly seen pushing a vehicle that was on fire into a gully near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park, sending it down a 60-foot embankment.

Witnesses claim Stout was seen calmly leaving the area by blending in with other citizens who were in the area and fleeing the rapidly evolving fire.

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Since the fire started, about 640 structures have been destroyed, and 52 other structures have been damaged between Butte and Tehama counties, according to Cal Fire.

Fire officials said Monday morning that a large dry air mass with increasing temperatures was moving into the area, which will challenge crews on the northeast corner of the inferno.

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In a briefing on the fire, crews were encouraged to remain focused, flexible and aggressive as they battled the smoke and flames to close off gaps and strategically move resources around to areas where unfavorable conditions will likely increase the probability of fire activity.

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There are currently about 6,600 crew members battling the fire, along with 44 helicopters, 536 fire engines, 196 bulldozers, 154 water tenders and 132 crews, Cal Fire notes on its website.

On Saturday, the Park Fire burned its way into California’s history books as the fourth-largest fire on record.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The U.S. handed over its last military base in Niger — one of two crucial hubs for American counterterrorism operations in the country — to local authorities, the U.S. Department of Defense and Niger’s Ministry of Defense announced in a joint statement on Monday.

The handing over of Airbase 201 in the city of Agadez came after the U.S. troops withdrew earlier this month from Airbase 101, a small drone base in Niger’s capital of Niamey.

U.S. troops have until Sept. 15 to leave the Sahel country following an agreement with Nigerien authorities.

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There are about two dozen American soldiers who remain in Niger, largely for administrative duties related to the withdrawal, according to Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon spokeswoman. They are located at the U.S. embassy.

In March, Niger’s ruling junta ended an agreement that allowed U.S. troops to operate in the West African country. A few months later, officials of the two countries announced in a joint statement that U.S. troops would complete their withdrawal by the middle of September.

Niger had been seen as one of the last nations in the restive region that Western nations could partner with to beat back growing jihadi insurgencies. The U.S. and France had more than 2,500 military personnel in the region until recently, and together with other European countries had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance and training.

In recent months Niger has pulled away from its Western partners, turning instead to Russia for security. In April, Russian military trainers arrived in Niger to reinforce the country’s air defenses.

Niger’s ouster of American troops following a coup last year has broad ramifications for the U.S. because it is forcing troops to abandon the critical base that was used for counterterrorism missions in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara desert where groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate.

One of those groups, Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, known as JNIM, is active in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and is looking to expand into Benin and Togo.