Unprecedented spate of fierce, wind-driven wildfires in Oregon have all but destroyed five small towns, leaving a potentially high death toll in their wake, the governor said on Wednesday (Sept 9), as initial casualty reports began to surface.
Hundreds of kilometres away in northern California, three fatalities were confirmed on Wednesday from a lightning-sparked conflagration that roared back to life with greater intensity this week after firefighters had made significant headway containing it.
While more than two dozen major blazes continued to wreak havoc across wide swaths of California, the neighbouring state of Oregon bore the latest brunt of wildfires plaguing much of the western United States over the past week.
Winds of up to 80kph sent blazes racing tens of kilometres 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.
In California, officials said 64,000 people had been evacuated from their homes as 28 major fires raged across the most populous US state.
Evacuations were ordered for a broad area around a massive 80,937ha 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.
In Oregon, the community of Detroit in the Santiam Valley, as well as Blue River and Vida in coastal Lane County, and Phoenix and Talent in southern Oregon were substantially destroyed, Brown told a news conference.
“This could be the greatest loss in human lives and property due to wildfire in our state’s history,” Brown said, without providing details.
Brown talked of rescuers saving people by pulling them from rivers where they took refuge from flames.
"DRIVING THROUGH HELL"
A 12-year-old boy and his grandmother died in a wildfire burning near the Santiam Valley community of Lyons, about 80km south of Portland, KOIN6 news reported, citing the family, who said the boy's mother was in critical condition.
In Washington state a 1-year-old boy was killed and his parents severely burned fleeing a fire in Okanogan County, police said.
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 80km west of Salem.
To the south, parts of Medford, a popular retirement location with over 80,000 residents, were under evacuation orders or warnings as a growing wildfire closed a section of Interstate 5, the primary north-south highway in the West.
High winds and heat are stoking nearly 100 wildfires across the US West. PHOTO: REUTERS
As the fire moved north toward Medford it heavily damaged Talent, with about 6,000 residents, and Phoenix, with around 5,000, according to local police.
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.
EXTREME WEATHER
Climate scientists blame global warming for extreme wet and dry seasons in the US 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 56km 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.”
Seventeen new large blazes were reported in the West on Wednesday, bringing the total to 96.
More than 1.3 million hectares - an area nearly the size of the US state of Connecticuthave burned.