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FRESNO, California: US officials warned on Friday (September 11) of possible “massive” deaths as more than 20,000 firefighters across the country battled deadly wildfires across the West Coast.
A prediction of cooler weather offered some hope for respite in the next few days, but the true scale of the destruction from dozens of massive fires in California, Oregon and Washington remained difficult to measure.
16 deaths were confirmed this week, with vast tracts of land still cut by flames.
“We are preparing for a mass fatality incident based on what we know and how many structures have been lost,” said Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon emergency management office on Friday.
Oregon defines a “mass fatality incident” as one that causes death and suffering that cannot be met by ordinary individual or community resources, according to the Washington Post.
“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.
READ: Oregon fires destroy five cities, many deaths feared
In neighboring Oregon, where 1 million acres have been burned and three people are reported dead and the whereabouts of 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 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.
Even when the weather forecast offered hope, Newsom painted a grim picture of California as the canary in the coal mine of climate change.
“I’m a little exhausted that we have to keep debating this issue,” he said in televised remarks while touring the damage. “This is a damn weather emergency. This is real and it is happening.
“This is the perfect storm.”
He added: “Folks, California is America. What we are experiencing here is reaching communities across the United States of America unless we act together on climate change, unless we disillusion ourselves of all the BS that has been thrown in. by a very small group of people. “
READ: Fleeing harder from California wildfires during the COVID-19 pandemic
COMPLETE LOSS
The August complex fire this week became by far the largest fire on record in California history, obliterating 746,000 acres of dry vegetation in the upstate as a result of multiple fires combined.
But it is just one of around 100 major fires on the 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 testing showed her missing 16-year-old nephew was among those killed in the North Complex fire.
READ: The ominous orange sky gives San Francisco an apocalyptic tint
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.
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 enormous material and environmental damage.
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.
