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Source: ESPN
Oregon wildfires: Half a million people flee dozens of infernos
A charred vehicle is seen in the parking lot of the burned Oak Park Motel after the passage of the Santiam Fire in Gates, Oregon, US on Thursday.
BBC Online :
More than half a million people in the US state of Oregon are fleeing deadly wildfires that are raging across the Pacific Northwest, authorities say.
Fanned by unusually hot, dry winds, dozens of fires are sweeping the state, and at least one is being treated as suspected arson.
Governor Kate Brown said the exact number of fatalities was not yet known, though at least four were confirmed.
More than 100 wildfires are currently scorching 12 western US states.
The worst affected are Oregon, California and Washington, where entire towns have been destroyed.
Some 4.4 million acres have been razed, according to the National Interagency Fire Center – an area larger than Connecticut and slightly smaller than Wales.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain told the New York Times it was “really shocking” to see so many large and destructive fires burning at once.
“I’ve spoken to maybe two dozen fire and climate experts over the last 48 hours and pretty much everyone is at a loss of words. There’s certainly been nothing in living memory on this scale.”
On Thursday evening, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management confirmed the latest evacuation figures, which amount to more than 10% of the state’s 4.2 million population.
Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, said: “We have never seen this amount of uncontained fire across the state… This will not be a one-time event. Unfortunately, it is the bellwether of the future. We’re feeling the acute impacts of climate change.”
The victims in Oregon include a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother, who died in a wildfire near Lyons, 70 miles (110km) south of Portland.
More than half a million people in the US state of Oregon are fleeing deadly wildfires that are raging across the Pacific Northwest, authorities say.
Fanned by unusually hot, dry winds, dozens of fires are sweeping the state, and at least one is being treated as suspected arson.
Governor Kate Brown said the exact number of fatalities was not yet known, though at least four were confirmed.
More than 100 wildfires are currently scorching 12 western US states.
The worst affected are Oregon, California and Washington, where entire towns have been destroyed.
Some 4.4 million acres have been razed, according to the National Interagency Fire Center – an area larger than Connecticut and slightly smaller than Wales.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain told the New York Times it was “really shocking” to see so many large and destructive fires burning at once.
“I’ve spoken to maybe two dozen fire and climate experts over the last 48 hours and pretty much everyone is at a loss of words. There’s certainly been nothing in living memory on this scale.”
On Thursday evening, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management confirmed the latest evacuation figures, which amount to more than 10% of the state’s 4.2 million population.
Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, said: “We have never seen this amount of uncontained fire across the state… This will not be a one-time event. Unfortunately, it is the bellwether of the future. We’re feeling the acute impacts of climate change.”
The victims in Oregon include a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother, who died in a wildfire near Lyons, 70 miles (110km) south of Portland.
