At Least Eight People Died After US Wildfires – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

– Thank God we were home, says Julio Flores.

At the Bear Creek trailer park, two of his sons were supposed to have been home alone while their father worked.

Fortunately, the corona pandemic had caused the father to reduce his working hours at the restaurant.

It probably saved the life of the family. Shortly after Julio returned home, almost every house in the area was on fire, Reuters writes.

Thousands have to evacuate

Outside of San Francisco, smoke and ash blocked the sun in the middle of the day. Kelly Groth woke up at 7 am and thought it was still dark.

– I drew the curtains and saw that the sky was dark orange, and it felt so apocalyptic. “I’ve lived in the area my entire life and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Groth told NBC News.

So far, eight people have lost their lives in the forest fires that have raged for several days. Four people died in fires in the state of California and three in Oregon.

In addition, a one-year-old boy lost his life in Washington state, according to police.

Thousands of people have to leave their homes. The fires have already extinguished several residential areas and turned houses to ashes.

Unusual heat and dry winds

In California, more than 890,000 acres have been burned. It’s a regrettable new record for the state. The magnitude is due to a huge drought that has been going on for almost 20 years.

Unusually hot and dry winds from the east have given the wildfires extra energy. Strong gusts of wind spread the flames from house to house.

Climate scientists believe that global warming is also one of the causes of deadly fires. Climate change has brought with it more extreme weather. The wetter and drier seasons have left a more combustible vegetation.

The fires have also affected large areas in both Oregon and Washington. It is rare for the two northern states of California to experience such strong fires, as the weather is colder and wetter there than further south.