The death toll has risen to 35 and the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning to expect high winds and dry conditions in Oregon and California.
By NWP Worldnews
Conditions are expected to contribute to a significant spread of new and existing fires, amid days of blazes across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Neighborhoods and forest land have been left barren.
At least 5 million acres have burned in the 3 west coast states and 35 confirmed dead since early August.
Since the death toll is constantly being updated at the time of this writing, at least 10 people have been killed in the past week in Oregon alone. Officials have said more people are missing from other blazes, and the number of deaths is likely to rise. 22 people have died in California, and one fatality has been reported in Washington.
In Oregon 35 fires are actively burning in the state, as drought conditions, extreme temperatures, and high winds produce the “perfect firestorm” for the blazes to grow, Governor Kate Brown told CBS News on Sunday.
After four days of extremely hot strong winds, the weekend brought calmer breezes blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean, and cooler, moister conditions helped crews make progress against the uncontrollable fires.
Still, authorities were unsure that the improved weather conditions may not be enough to make significant progress.
“We’re concerned that the incoming front is not going to provide a lot of rain here in the Medford region and it’s going to bring increased winds,” Bureau of Land Management spokesman Kyle Sullivan told Reuters news agency.
In California, approximately 17,000 firefighters were working to quell 29 major wildfires, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
More than 4,000 homes and other structures have been destroyed in the last few weeks in California alone. 3 million acres of land have burned in the state, according to Cal Fire.
A vast portion of residents in all west coast states are dealing with unhealthy air conditions. In Portland, residents stuffed towels under door jambs to keep smoke out or wore N95 masks when inside.
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