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ASHLAND, OR – SEPTEMBER 11: In this aerial view from a drone, damaged homes are seen in a mobile home park that was destroyed by a wildfire on September 11, 2020 in Ashland, Oregon. Hundreds of homes in Ashland and nearby towns have been lost due to wildfires. David Ryder / Getty Images / AFP
FRESNO, United States – More than 20,000 firefighters across the United States battled deadly wildfires spreading along the West Coast on Friday as the arrival of cooler weather offered hope for respite.
The true scale of the destruction of dozens of massive fires in the states of California, Oregon and Washington remains difficult to measure, with 16 confirmed deaths so far this week but vast stretches still cut by flames.
“We anticipate that the number (of deaths) could increase as we return to areas that have been ravaged by flames and obviously the smoke is starting to clear,” warned California Governor Gavin Newsom, while visiting a nearby burned forest. from the furious north. Complex fire.
Ten people have been confirmed dead from that fire in Butte County, which was driven at an unprecedented rate into the city of Oroville earlier in the week by strong, dry winds and elevated temperatures.
But Newsom said the weather “is starting to cooperate,” with calm winds and some rain forecasts for the next few days.
In neighboring Oregon, where a million acres have been burned and three people are reported to have died and dozens are still unknown, Gov. Kate Brown also expressed hope that the corner has been changed.
More than 40,000 Oregonians have fled their homes so far, and about 500,000 are under evacuation warnings, Brown said at a news conference, clarifying earlier higher figures given by state officials.
“The weather system that fuels these fires in recent days has finally broken down,” he said.
“We anticipate there will be cooler air and humidity in the coming days, which is very good news.”
Dozens of people were still missing in connection with the fires, specifically in Jackson, Lane and Marion counties, Brown said.
Earlier in the week, Brown warned that Oregon could expect to see a “great loss, both in structures and in human life.”
– ‘Complete loss’ –
The August complex fire this week became by far the largest fire on record in California history, obliterating 746,000 acres (300,000 hectares) of dry vegetation in the north of the state as a result of multiple fires combined.
But it is just one of about 100 large fires on the US West Coast, and other fast-growing fires near populated areas have proven to be more deadly.
“We are completely speechless at the moment,” Bobbie Zedaker told the San Francisco Chronicle, after DNA tests showed her missing 16-year-old nephew was among those killed in the North Complex fire.
Two more people died near the rural community of Happy Camp, a Cal Fire spokeswoman told AFP.
But in a mountainous region of central California, close to where the Creek Fire is burning, some members of an indigenous community refused to leave their homes despite evacuation orders.
“I don’t feel like it’s going to happen this way,” said James Hancock, 52, whose home on the Cold Springs Rancheria Indian Reservation currently has no electricity, no electricity or water.
“The ancestors had none of that and they were fine,” he told AFP.
– ‘Damn climate emergency’ –
Huge wildfires are becoming more common, and the World Meteorological Organization says the five years to 2019 were unprecedented for fires, especially in Europe and North America.
Climate change amplifies droughts that dry up regions, creating ideal conditions for wildfires to spread uncontrollably and inflict unprecedented material and environmental damage.
“I’m a little exhausted that we have to keep debating this issue,” Newsom said Friday. “This is a damn weather emergency. This is real and it is happening.
“This is the perfect storm.”
California has already seen more than 3.1 million acres burn this year, an annual record, about the size of Connecticut, with nearly four months of fire season to come.
The 12 wildfire deaths in the state this week follow eight more last month.
Oregon officials have confirmed two deaths in the Santiam Canyon region south of Portland, and a third near the California border.
In Washington state, a one-year-old boy died while his parents were badly burned while trying to flee from hell 130 miles east of Seattle.
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