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Wildfires are occurring in a dozen states in the western United States, including Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, and Idaho. Image: keystone
These 5 pictures show the extent of wildfires in the US.
In the western United States, dozens of wildfires also terrorized tens of thousands of residents over the weekend. According to the US broadcaster NBC, at least 33 people died in the three west coast states of California, Oregon and Washington. Some of the fires reached unprecedented proportions.
In California alone, there have been reports of 22 deaths since the first fire broke out in mid-August. Ten Oregon victims were also reported. Among them was a 13-year-old boy who died with a dog on his lap when the family tried to escape the flames in the car, according to the US broadcaster CNN. Another person died in neighboring Washington state.
The Californian city of Pasadena is bathed in thick fog. Image: keystone
Dozens of people were also reported missing in the three states along the coast, and local authorities feared more deaths. The thick smoke from the wildfires swept through cities like Pasadena, California. The air has been classified as unhealthy by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“Entire cities have caught fire,” CNN reported Saturday. Tens of thousands of people have already had to leave their homes to flee the flames, and in Oregon alone hundreds of thousands depend on at least preparing for an evacuation. According to the New York Times, an area equivalent to about 20,200 square kilometers of forest burned in recent weeks, roughly the area of Rhineland-Palatinate or Saxony-Anhalt.
George Coble walks through the remains of his home in Oregon that was destroyed by a wildfire. Image: sda
Tens of thousands of firefighters continued to fight the wildfires on Saturday and the situation stabilized somewhat in some places. In the state of Oregon, according to the newspaper “The Oregonian”, evacuation alert levels have been relaxed in some areas. There and in California, authorities expected a relaxation through favorable winds, possible rains and lower temperatures.
But this year’s fire season will last at least seven weeks, “USA Today” wrote. Therefore, the fire department asked the population of the west coast to remain alert: “Do not be fooled by the low temperatures,” quoted the David Berlant newspaper of the Cal Fire agency. “Historically, September and October have the largest and most destructive wildfires.” According to media reports, the police arrested suspected arsonists in some places.
US President Donald Trump wants to be personally briefed on the California wildfires for the first time on Monday. Trump will visit McClellan Park, a settlement north of Sacramento in the center of the state, spokesman Judd Deere confirmed for the German news agency on Saturday. He will participate in a meeting with regional and federal forces. Trump had planned election campaign dates in the neighboring state of Nevada for the weekend and the beginning of the week, according to US media an appointment was also planned in Arizona on Monday.
Firefighters in Oregon try to control wildfires. Image: keystone
Her heart breaks, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley wrote on Twitter with photos of burning homes on Saturday. “This is the devastation I see today left by these never-before-seen wildfires. Streets of houses and shops, hopes and dreams, history and future, all decimated. “
This year, according to the New York Times, Oregon soils in particular in the northwest of the state were parched from a severe drought, meaning the fires also spread to regions not normally affected by fires. In Oregon, Saturday’s fires also broke out near the city of Portland. According to the IQAir database, it was the city with the highest air pollution in the world. Doctors also reported on CNN that air quality in many cities had reached a level that was detrimental to health.
Wildfires are wreaking havoc in a dozen states in the western United States, including Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado and Idaho, the federal agency’s National Interagency Fire Center announced Saturday. According to the authority, more than 29,000 firefighters and other emergency services are fighting the flames throughout the affected region. A total of 4.7 million acres (a good 19,000 square kilometers) have already been burned, a large portion of it over 12,700 square kilometers in California.
A bicycle that withstood the fires near the Lake Detroit market. Image: keystone
“We are in a climate crisis,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said Friday during a site visit in burned forests near the town of Oroville. Many scientists would have predicted this development years ago.
Scientists believe the climate crisis is certain to exacerbate the climatic extremes that contribute to more violent wildfires. Six of the current fires are already among the 20 largest in California history since records began around 1930. (sda / dpa)
