The Oregon fires may have been set

The Ashland police chief said Thursday that arson investigators have opened an investigation into the origin of an alleged fire in Oregon, which started in the city and moved to destroy neighborhoods.

Since the fire broke out Monday, two bodies have been found in the debris of the blaze, amid a wave of wildfires in the state, according to a fire spokesman.

More bodies are expected to be discovered as search teams search debris from homes that were flooded during a chaotic evacuation from populated areas along the path of the rapidly spreading flames, Police Chief Tigi Oumyara said.

Speaking to Reuters by phone, the police chief said: “We try to get people out as quickly as possible.”

He added that “there are chances that there are bodies in some of those houses” and that “the probability of registering (deaths) is much higher.”

The fire, called “Almeida,” started late Monday morning in Ashland, which has an estimated population of 21,000, located in southern Oregon, 16 miles from the California border.

According to local media estimates, some 600 homes were destroyed by the fires.

While Omiara declined to provide details about the fire, he said: “We have good reason to believe that there is a human element behind it,” stating that criminal investigations are continuing.