Oregon, California, and Washington fires are burning thousands of acres and weather conditions are not helping

09/09/2020 Philippines



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The fires threatened homes in places like Clackamas County south of Portland and the Medford and Phoenix areas of Jackson County.

“In some areas, the situation is so difficult and dangerous that even firefighters are being evacuated,” the governor told reporters.

Oregon has experienced “historic wildfires” almost every year during Brown’s time in office, but this year’s fires “are unprecedented,” he said.

“This is definitely a once in a generation event,” Brown said.

In California, more than 20 major wildfires are occurring in a year in which 2.2 million acres have already been charred statewide. That’s a record for Golden State for a year, with four months left in the fire season, Cal Fire said Tuesday.

“(This is) one of the most challenging wildfire seasons, perhaps the most challenging, California has ever seen,” State National Guard Col. Jesse Miller said Wednesday, citing this year’s combination of high temperatures, high winds dynamics, low humidity and a drought in areas of Northern California.

In Washington state, more acres burned Monday than were charred in the past 12 fire seasons, Gov. Jay Inslee said, and dry conditions continue to fuel the fires. In a city in eastern Washington, flames destroyed more than 80% of homes and public infrastructure.

“I can’t reiterate,” said the governor, “we believe that almost all of these fires were caused by humans, in some dimension. If you can avoid being outside for anything that could cause a spark, I hope people can avoid it. Those are those. terms “.

“This is a new reality in which we live with a changing climate,” he added.

As of Wednesday morning, areas covering more than 30 million people in five western states – Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona – were under red flag warnings. These advisories warn that conditions that can start or spread fires (high winds and dry conditions) were imminent or occurring.
The 40 great fires of the West Coast are among the more than 85 great fires burning in the western US, says the National Interagency Fire Center.

Central Park size burned every half hour

California has “fires burning in the northern part of the state all the way to the Mexican border, about 800 miles between the most distant fires, so we’re spread out across the landscape,” Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter.

The Creek Fire, running through the mountains of Madera and Fresno counties in the central section of the state have destroyed at least 360 structures since the flames broke out Friday night. The fire has devastated more than 152,000 acres and has no containment.. Since it started, the fire has burned an area roughly the size of Central Park every 30 minutes for the past few days.

“We have 150 million trees that died in the southern Sierra several years ago, and they are fueling the Creek fire, which is the largest and most worrying fire for us right now,” Porter said Tuesday night.

California wildfires show how climate change is making forced evacuations and power outages the norm

About 385 people and 27 animals were transported by helicopter in recent days after being trapped by fire in the Sierra National Forest, California National Guard Col. David Hall told CNN. At least 30,000 people have been evacuated, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Pursell said Tuesday night.

In the Los Angeles area, Santa Ana winds – hot, dry air descending from the mountainous interior regions – threaten Wednesday to help start or expand fires, including the Bobcat fire burning in the San Gabriel Mountains. northeast of the city.
The Bobcat fire has burned more than 10,300 acres and forced evacuation orders for areas including parts of Pasadena, CNN affiliate KTLA reported.
In Southern California’s San Bernardino County, the El Dorado fire has grown to more than 11,000 acres and is 19% contained, fire officials said.

The fire, set during a gender reveal party, was caused by a “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” used at the party Saturday morning at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles. Cal Fire investigators determined.

California has yet to reach what is often the heart of its fire season, when the Santa Ana winds really start to add fuel to an already dangerous fire recipe.

The frequency of fall days with extreme weather conditions from fires in California has more than doubled since the 1980s, driven primarily by climate change, a recent study found.

‘Urgent and scary to get out’

In Oregon, at least seven major fires broke out across the state Tuesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Clackamas County, in northwestern Oregon, declared a state of emergency Tuesday in response to multiple wildfires that prompted evacuations. Across the county, more than a dozen Level 3: “Wow! Evacuate now!” – Evacuations were conducted and several other areas were ordered ready for evacuations, authorities said.
An Oregon family ran out of gas while trying to flee a wildfire

In neighboring Marion County, home to the state capital, another state of emergency was declared Tuesday, and residents of the region were forced from their homes by the fires.

One family told CNN affiliate KPTV that they had a short notice to leave their home when nearby flames approached.

“We drove under a tree that had fallen and there were branches on fire and it was urgent and scary to get out,” Sabrina Kent told the news station.

The family is staying in an RV near a local grocery store, according to the affiliate, as they chart their next steps.

“This is the most difficult year, can we get ahead of it?” Kent told KPTV.

The Oregon Department of Corrections announced Tuesday that they evacuated three Salem prisons following threats from the Beachie Creek and Lionshead wildfires.

A charred city in Washington state

In Malden, in Washington state, about 80% of the city’s homes and public infrastructure were destroyed, including the fire station, post office, city hall and library, authorities said.

“The magnitude of this disaster really cannot be put into words,” said Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers.

The fires have already destroyed more than 330,000 acres in the state, according to the governor.

80% of buildings in an eastern Washington city were destroyed during a Labor Day firestorm.
Further west, in Graham, a fire that swept through the area left what residents described as a “war zone,” according to CNN affiliate KOMO. Some lost everything.

At least six houses and three stores were destroyed, according to the news station, along with sheds, equipment and vehicles. The fire department issued evacuation orders for about 100 residents, the station reported.

“It’s devastating to the people who live here safely, and to me and my heart. This fire came (through) hot and fast,” Graham Fire & Rescue Assistant Fire Marshal Steve Richards told the affiliated. “It was a firestorm that he went through.”
For the country as a whole, the number of fires recorded and the area burned in 2020 are below the 10-year average for the same period, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. A total of 41,051 fires have been reported so far this year, while the average number of fires as of Sept. 8 in the past 10 years is 43,745, says the NIFC.

The total area burned since early 2020 is 4,729,287, compared to the 10-year average of 5,708,762 acres at this time of year, the NIFC said.

CNN’s Jason Hanna, Joe Sutton, Konstantin Toropin, Sarah Moon, Brandon Miller, and Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.

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