Three dead in California bear fire and two in Oregon as more than 90 major fires continue to burn
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At least five people are dead including a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother as 96 wildfires continue to rage across California, Oregon and Washington after already decimating an area the same size as Connecticut.
Strong winds and high temperatures fed nearly 100 extreme wildfires across the western United States on Wednesday, severely damaging at least two small towns in Oregon where the governor declared an emergency for ‘unprecedented’ blazes.
Firefighters in California, Washington and Oregon retreated from uncontrolled fires that forced tens of thousands to evacuate their homes and hundreds of thousands to lose power in the three states.
The 96 large fires across California, Oregon and Washington have so far burned more than 3.4 million acres.
The 12-year-old boy and his grandmother died in a wildfire burning near the Santiam Valley community of Lyons, about 50 miles south of Portland. The boy’s mother is currently in hospital in critical condition. In Washington state a one-year-old boy was killed and his parents severely burned fleeing a fire in Okanogan County, police said.
This NASA Earth Observatory image shows satellite images captured on September 7, 2020, as smoke filled the skies across several US western states. In a few instances, fires grew so hot that they created pyrocumulus ‘fire clouds’ that lifted columns of smoke several miles into the atmosphere
An orange glow fills the sky above the Embarcadero as smoke from various wildfires burning across Northern California mixes with the marine layer, blanketing San Francisco in darkness, on September 9, 2020 in San Francisco, California
An orange sky filled with wildfire smoke hangs above hiking trails at the Limeridge Open Space in Concord, California
A singed ice machine sits over a burned store during the Bear fire, part of the North Lightning Complex fires, in unincorporated Butte County, California on Wednesday
Heat rising from the roadway blur the image of a fire truck driving through a burned out area in Bonney Lake, Washington south of Seattle
Firefighters wait under power lines for a helicopter to make a water drop on Wednesday on a hotspot of a wildfire burning in Bonney Lake
Washington Governor Jay Inslee, left, talks with firefighters, Wednesday, during a tour to survey wildfire damage
Firefighters retreated from uncontrollable blazes in Oregon as officials gave residents ‘go now’ orders to evacuate, meaning they had only minutes to leave their homes.
‘It was like driving through hell,’ Jody Evans told local television station NewsChannel21 after a midnight evacuation from Detroit, about 50 miles west of Salem.
Across the United States wildfires have burned nearly 4.7 million acres in 2020, the highest year-to-date area since 2018, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Most of the fires are in western states, where 17 new large blazes were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total to 96 that have burned more than 3.4 million acres – an area nearly the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut.
Over a century of efforts by federal and state agencies to suppress naturally occurring blazes have left forests replete with dry timber and brush that provides fuel for large wildfires.
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural color image of thick smoke plumes streaming west from a long line of intense fires in Washington state, Oregon and California
Brown smoke from wildfires blowing westward in the atmosphere from California’s Sierra Nevada to the Coast Ranges and from Oregon can be seen on Wednesday
Home construction has encroached on some forests in recent decades, and owners are watching their houses burn as firefighters are unable to save property.
‘You add the winds, the dry conditions, the hot temperatures, it’s the perfect recipe,’ said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for California’s state fire authority of the Creek Fire that has torched over 360 homes and other structures.
‘This fire is just burning at an explosive rate.’
Winds of up to 50 miles per hour sent blazes racing tens of miles within hours, burning hundreds of homes as firefighters fought at least 35 major blazes across an area of Oregon nearly twice the size of New York City.
Parts of Medford, Oregon, a popular retirement location with over 80,000 residents in the state’s scenic Rogue Valley, were under evacuation orders or warnings as a growing wildfire closed a section of Interstate 5, the primary north-south highway in the West.
The fire moved north to Medford from Ashland, where it started on Tuesday. The blaze did little damage to Ashland, home to the historic stages of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which normally draws more than 350,000 theatergoers a year.
Thick smoke is seen above Salem City, Orego in this picture obtained from social media taken on Tuesday
Red sky and thick smoke are seen in Salem City, Oregon in a picture that was taken earlier this week
Lori Kauwe of Salem, Ore., attends to one of hundreds of horses that were evacuated from wildfires in Oregon and brought to the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem, Oregon
Hundreds of horses have been brought to the fairgrounds in Salem by people fleeing the fires, along with llamas, goats and other animals. The Red Cross is helping people at the fairgrounds, which has been turned into an evacuation center
But as the blaze moved northward, it heavily damaged the small town of Talent with about 6,000 residents and Phoenix, with around 5,000, according to local police..
Medford, with over 80,000 residents, was under evacuation orders or warnings as a growing wildfire closed a section of Interstate 5, the primary north-south highway in the West.
The fire is suspected so far to have caused one death north of Ashland, said Rich Tyler, spokesman for the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
Brown saw no respite to the hot, windy weather and requested a federal emergency declaration for the state.
‘Absolutely no area in the state is free from fire,’ said Doug Graf, chief of fire protection for the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The Oregon town of Mill City, about 65 miles south of Portland with a population around 1,900, also had major damage, and Malden, with about 200 people in eastern Washington state, was destroyed on Monday.
In central California, the Creek Fire about 35 miles north of Fresno tore through a forest killed by drought and bark beetles as U.S. military helicopters pulled campers, hikers and residents out of the area.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, center, talks to East Pierce Fire & Rescue Chief Bud Backer, left, and Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier about wildfires in the area
A helicopter flies over fires burning on a ridge in Sumner, Washington. The governor said Wednesday, warning: ‘This could be the greatest loss of human life and property due to wildfire in our state’s history.’
Three chairs are all that remain at the Gates Post office in Gates, Oregon on Wednesday. The post office was destroyed along with several other buildings in the Santiam Canyon community as a result of the Santiam Fire
Robert Pylant, 65, locates his fire safe in the rubble of his mobile home, early Wednesday in Gates, Oregon. All the trailers in Oak Park Trailer Park were destroyed along with the majority of the homes along East Sorbin Avenue
A burned out house is seen after the passing of the Holiday Farm fire in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon on Wednesday
Hundreds of homes including entire communities were razed by wildfires in the western United States on September 9 as officials warned of potential mass deaths under apocalyptic orange skies
At least five towns were ‘substantially destroyed’ in Oregon as widespread evacuations took place across the northwestern state, governor Kate Brown said
A burned out house is seen after the passing of the Holiday Farm fire in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon on Wednesday
A a woman walks near the foundation of a burned out house after the passing of the Holiday Farm fire in McKenzie Bridge, Oregon
Oregon Governor Kate Brown called the extreme heat and wind a ‘once in a lifetime event,’ as climate scientists blamed human activities for higher average temperatures that have supercharged fires.
‘This is proving to be an unprecedented and significant fire event for our state,’ Brown told a press briefing.
‘This could be the greatest loss in human lives and property due to wildfire in our state´s history,’ Brown said, without providing details.
Officials said 64,000 people had been evacuated from their homes as 28 major fires raged across the most populated U.S. state.
Evacuations were ordered for a broad area around a massive 200,000-acre wildfire burning north of Sacramento. Residents of more than a dozen towns including the city of Oroville were either told to evacuate immediately or be prepared to go. The fire raged perilously close to the town of Paradise, which was burned to the ground in 2018 by a wildfire, killing 85 people.
Climate scientists blame global warming for extreme wet and dry seasons in the U.S. West that have caused grasses and scrub to flourish then dry out, leaving abundant fuel for fires.
In California, all 18 National Forests were closed due to ‘unprecedented and historic fire conditions.’
To the south, the Creek Fire, about 35 miles north of Fresno, tore through the Sierra National Forest, which was susceptible due to drought and bark beetle damage, destroying over 360 homes and structures.
‘This fire is just burning at an explosive rate,’ said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for California’s state fire authority. ‘You add the winds, the dry conditions, the hot temperatures, it’s the perfect recipe.’
A view of the San Francisco Bay Bridge under an orange overcast sky in the afternoon in San Francisco, California,
President Barack Obama tweeted his concern over the dangers of climate change and urged voters to vote
view of the Painted Ladies, the iconic row of historical Victorian homes with a downtown backdrop, under orange overcast sky in the afternoon in San Francisco on Wednesday
People gather at Alamo Square under an orange and yellow overcast sky overlooking the The Painted Ladies
A view of Cupid’s Span, a sculpture by Claes Oldenburge and Coosje van Bruggen, in the foreground and the Ferry Building Clock Tower in the background under an orange overcast sky in the afternoon in San Francisco
Traffic lights and car lights illuminate California Street during an orange overcast sky over the financial district in the afternoon in San Francisco. California wildfire smoke high in the atmosphere over the San Francisco Bay Area blocked the sunlight and turned the sky a dark orange and yellow shade for most of the day
Under darkened skies from wildfire smoke, a sailboat makes its way past the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and lights at Oracle Park Wednesday,
People in San Francisco and elsewhere in California woke Wednesday to a deep orange sky that triggered apocalyptic visions in a year already rife with disturbing events.
Skies so dark at times that it appeared more night than day were accompanied in some places with ash falling like snow, the cause being massive wild fires filling the air with smoke and cinders.
‘The orange skies this morning are a result of wildfire smoke in the air,’ San Francisco Bay air quality officials said in a tweet.
‘These smoke particles scatter blue light and only allow yellow-orange-red light to reach the surface, causing skies to look orange.’
As smoke gets thick in some areas, it blocks sunlight causing dark skies, the officials explained.
Photos of the eerie scene, particularly of a San Francisco skyline fit for a dystopian science fiction film, spread quickly on social media.
‘Is there a word for ‘the apocalypse is upon us burnt sienna?’ read one tweet fired off by someone who felt using the word ‘orange’ to describe the sky was being too kind.
Others likened the scenes to planets other than Earth.
People from San Francisco to Seattle woke Wednesday to hazy clouds of smoke lingering in the air, darkening the sky to an eerie orange glow that kept street lights illuminated into midday, all thanks to dozens of wildfires throughout the West
Looking down Lombard Street, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill at right and the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, are darkened by wildfire smoke
Under darkened skies from wildfire smoke, a waiter carries a tray of Irish Coffee to people having lunch at the Buena Vista Cafe Wednesday in San Francisco. The photo was taken just after midday
Lunchtime on Wednesday in San Francisco has an otherworldly glow about it thanks to the smoke from the states wildfires
The sky was turned orange as hazy clouds of smoke lingered in the air all day long which saw the street lights remain on
California wildfire smoke high in the atmosphere over the San Francisco Bay Area blocked the sunlight and turned the sky a dark orange and yellow shade for most of the day on Wednesday
‘If literal fire skies don’t wake us up to climate change, then nothing will,’ tweeted YouTube influencer and Zadiko tea startup chief Zack Kornfeld.
‘Enjoy joking about how crazy this year is because we made this mess and it’s only going to get worse.’
Dark skies blocking the sun chilled temperatures at what has historically been the warmest time year in San Francisco.
‘Geo-color imagery shows a very thick multilevel smoke deck over much of California,’ the US National Weather Service said in a tweet.
‘This smoke is filtering the incoming energy from the sun, causing much cooler temperatures and dark dreary red-shifted skies across many areas.’
An orange sky in the early afternoon as seen from King Street in San Francisco
People sit at Alamo Square under an orange and yellow overcast sky overlooking the The Painted Ladies, the iconic row of historical Victorian homes with a downtown backdrop
An orange sky at Alamo Square Park in the afternoon in San Francisco, California
An orange sky in the early afternoon with the San Francisco Bay Bridge in the background as seen from King Street in San Francisco
Traffic lights and car lights illuminate an intersection under an orange overcast sky in the afternoon in San Francisco
Smoke hangs over the San Francisco skyline on Wednesday as dozens of wildfires rage across California
A satellite image shows smoke from dozens of wildfires in California and Oregon billowing over the Pacific Ocean
Two of California’s largest wildfires are located just outside of San Francisco, which is seen covered in smoke on Wednesday
A frightening red haze has been cast over towns in Oregon as 35 wildfires rage around the state
Several Oregon residents shared photos of red-stained skies on social media. The photo above was taken in the middle of the day in Salem
Similar red skies are seen in Northern California as the Creek Fire continues its path through Fresno County outside Yosemite
More than 14,000 firefighters are out battling 25 separate blazes in California. Pictured: The Bear Fire in Oroville
Outdoor furniture stands next to a destroyed petrol station on State Route 168 after the Creek Fire passed though
Golfers warm up on the driving range during the preview day of the Safeway Open in Napa, California, on Wednesday
A man walks along the Redwood highway by the Pacific Ocean as smoke covers Orick, California, on Wednesday
A woman crosses a street as smoke from wildfires covers an area near Eureka, California, on Thursday
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday night declared a state of emergency as his hard-hit state struggled to beat back the blazes.
The Labor Day weekend heat wave fueled new fires that pushed the state to set a new record for number of acres burned with 2,178,015 as of Tuesday night.
The previous record was set just two years ago and included the deadliest fire in state history, the Camp Fire, which ripped through the town of Paradise and killed 85 people in November 2018.
Cal Fire spokeswoman Lynne Tolmachoff said the new record was especially alarming because of how early in the year it was set.
‘It’s a little unnerving because September and October are historically our worst months for fires,’ Tolmachoff told AP. ‘It’s usually hot, and the fuels really dry out. And we see more of our wind events.’
Compared to last year, California has seen over 2,650 more fires and a nearly 2000 percent increase in the acres burned year-to-date (January 1 – September 7), across all jurisdictions, Cal Fire said.
The state has seen 900 wildfires since August 15, many of them started by an intense series of thousands of lightning strikes in mid-August. There have been eight fire deaths and nearly 4,000 structures destroyed.
Randy Moore, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region, warned that the blazes are expected to worsen in the coming days.
‘The wildfire situation throughout California is dangerous and must be taken seriously,’ Moore told AP. ‘Existing fires are displaying extreme fire behavior, new fire starts are likely, weather conditions are worsening, and we simply do not have enough resources to fully fight and contain every fire.’
14,100 firefighters are battling 25 separate blazes in California. California has seen 900 wildfires since August 15
Law enforcement officers watch flames into the air as the Bear Fire continues to spread in Oroville, California, on Wednesday
A Butte County firefighter douses flames at the Bear Fire in Oroville, California, early Wednesday morning
Butte County firefighters watch as flames tower over their truck at the Bear Fire in Oroville, California, on Wednesday
An orange glow hangs over Yosemite as the Creek Fire draws near, threatening evacuations
On Tuesday night, Cal Fire said that the Creek Fire had worsened in the previous 24 hours owing to strong winds.
‘The fire continued to grow under extreme conditions,’ the agency said in an update. ‘The Red Flag Warning for strong winds will impact the fire in the early morning, with stronger winds to come. The fire made wind driven runs and increased spotting distance.
‘Red Flag Warning in effect until 11 pm Tuesday for high temperatures, low humidity and high winds.’
The California National Guard (CNG) was called in over the weekend to rescue more than 400 hikers and campers who found themselves trapped in the mountains after roads were closed to the Creek Fire.
More than 200 people were airlifted from Mammoth Lake over Saturday and Sunday – and another 148 were rescued from near Lake Edison and Chinese Peak early Tuesday morning, the CNG said.
Officials said at least 65 more hikers could still be trapped in the Sierra National Forest as rescue efforts continue.
One hiker had been confirmed dead from an apparent heart attack, and officials warned there may be multiple more casualties.
In Southern California, fires burned in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, and the forecast called for the arrival of the region’s notorious Santa Anas. The hot, dry winds could reach 50 mph at times, forecasters said.
People in a half-dozen foothill communities east of Los Angeles were being told to stay alert because of a fire in the Angeles National Forest.
‘The combination of gusty winds, very dry air, and dry vegetation will create critical fire danger,’ the National Weather Service warned.
The US Forest Service on Monday decided to close all eight national forests in the southern half of the state and shutter campgrounds statewide.
Firefighters have made headway with one blaze in the area – the El Dorado Fire – which was sparked on Saturday by a gender reveal photoshoot, when a pyrotechnical smoke device sent sparks into the bone-dry brush.
The El Dorado Fire has burned more than 11,259 acres as of Tuesday night and is 19 percent contained.
Officials said the family behind the gender reveal debacle could face civil or criminal charges for the fire.
The threat of winds tearing down power lines or hurling debris into them and sparking a wildfire prompted Pacific Gas & Electric, the state’s largest utility, to shut off power to 172,000 customers over the weekend.
More outages were expected Wednesday, with power not expected to be completely restored until Wednesday night.
In Washington state, the town of Malden was almost entirely destroyed.
Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers said that 70-80 percent of homes in the town of 300 people have gone up in flames.
Local news network KREM showed pictured of the charred Malden post office, a fire still burning inside the gutted building.
The fire station, city hall and other buildings were also consumed, Myers said.
‘The scale of this disaster really can’t be expressed in words,’ he said. ‘The fire will be extinguished, but a community has been changed for a lifetime. I just hope we don’t find the fire took more than homes and buildings. I pray everyone got out in time.’
Larry Frick, who lives in Malden, told KXLY that he spent three hours to save his house amid the flames.
‘It’s gone, brother,’ he texted his sibling after the fire swept through. ‘The entire town is gone. Everything from here to Pine City is gone. The scariest time of my life.’
KREM said that at least nine wildfires were burning throughout the Inland Northwest on Monday, amid dry and windy conditions.
Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz tweeted on Monday evening that, ‘Today alone, almost 300,000 acres in Washington have burned.’
‘Thousands of homes are without power. Many families have had to evacuate their homes and many homes have been lost,’ Franz wrote. ‘We’re still seeing new fire starts in every corner of the state.’
Governor Jay Inslee noted that more acres burned on Monday than in 12 of the last fire seasons in the state.
‘We think all of these are human-caused in some dimension,’ Inslee said.
Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler and their six-year-old daughter Lilly had driven up to the lake on Labor Day to go boating when they were suddenly awoken by an evacuation order at about 1am Tuesday as the Beachie Creek Fire encroached on their campsite.
The Hargett family quickly hitched up their boat and packed up their car to drive to safety, following behind their friends, Tim and Adamma Dye.
As they made the trek out of the evacuation zone, Allison filmed several videos from the car which showed the forest enveloped by an eerie orange glow as flames consumed dozens of trees and embers cascaded from the sky.
Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler and their six-year-old daughter Lilly (pictured together) were camping at Detroit Lake State Park when wildfire forced them to evacuate on Tuesday
The family made it about 20 miles before their car ran out of gas outside Mill City, trapping them in the Marion County evacuation zone. Thankfully, they weren’t alone on the road.
‘[Our friends] were in front of us and saw that we pulled over and turned around, tossed their stuff in the back seat and told us to get in and let’s go,’ Allison told CNN on Tuesday.
Despite being forced to leave behind their boat, car and much of their gear to fit into their friends’ vehicle, Allison said her family was grateful to have made it to safety.
‘We completely ran out of gas and would’ve been stranded. They saved us,’ she said.
The Beachie Creek Fire ignited on August 16 and has since torched more than 130,000 acres, according to local officials. It remains zero percent contained and is traveling at a rate of three acres per hour.
High winds, dry conditions and a heatwave in the drought-stricken region helped fuel the fire over the weekend, prompting evacuations for several cities in Marion County, which includes Detroit Lake State Park.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office released video of multiple structures on fire in Mill City on Wednesday night, hours after the Hargett family and their friends left the area.
Neighboring Clackamas County declared a state of emergency on Tuesday as four active fires – including Beachie Creek – put several communities under threat.
As her family fled from the Beachie Creek Fire early Tuesday, Allison Hargett filmed several videos from the car which showed the forest enveloped by an eerie orange glow as flames consumed dozens of trees and embers cascaded from the sky
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