No state on the west coast of the United States is immune: California, Oregon and Washington state are grappling with violent fires that leave the impression of“Hell” and an apocalypse sky, causing the death of six people including a one-year-old child.
From north to south, the outbreaks extend from the border with Canada in Washington State to the Mexican border near San Diego (California), where nearly 7,000 hectares have gone up in smoke in the Valley Fire, according to local authorities.
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One-year-old child found dead in Washington state
The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office in Washington State announced Wednesday, September 9, that rescue teams have found a one-year-old child dead with his parents severely burned. All three were trying to escape the flames.
Governor Jay Inslee said on Tuesday that nine fires “Important” burned more than 133,000 hectares in twenty-four hours, more than double the area burned for the full year 2019.
“We live in a new world, this is no longer the Washington before”, he launched, denouncing the climate change at the origin of these fires of a new magnitude. “The conditions are so dry, so hot, so windy, because the climate has changed”, said the governor, adding that more than 100,000 people were without electricity.
The small town of Malden has been almost completely destroyed. The fire station, the post office and the town hall “Totally burned down”Sheriff Brett Myers said in a statement. “There are no words to describe the extent of the damage”, added Myers. “The fire will be put out, but a whole community is forever transformed. “
The easterly wind pushed the fumes towards the Seattle area, the state’s largest city, where an air pollution alert was issued by the local Department of Ecology.
In Oregon, two dead and towns destroyed
In Oregon, a neighboring state to the south, Governor Kate Brown has deplored a series of fires “Unprecedented, with significant damage and devastating consequences for the entire state”. “Almost every year since I became governor [en 2015], I have seen historic fire seasons ”, she clarified.
Two people were found dead on Wednesday, the sheriff of Marion County in the northwest of the state later announced. According to local media, it is a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother.
More than 120,000 hectares went up in smoke and at least five localities were “Largely destroyed” while massive evacuations are underway, said the governor, at a press conference, believing that the fire could cause “The greatest number of deaths and destruction in the history of our state”.
“I want to be honest when I say that we expect a lot of loss, in terms of buildings and human lives. “
Jody Evans, a resident of the city of Detroit, explained that she felt like “Go through hell” fleeing the flames that threatened his home. “The fire on both sides of the road, the fallen trees, the blowing wind, the ashes that fly”, she told local Newschannel 21.
Carried by the wind, the fumes spread towards the coast and covered entire regions with haze.
Apocalypse sky in San Francisco, three dead in California
In California, more than twenty fires are raging and this year the fire has consumed more than 10,000 km2 in the state, a record since these data were recorded in 1987.
Three people were found dead in the northern part of the state, Butte County authorities said on Wednesday.
In San Francisco, residents woke up to a dark orange sky worthy of an apocalypse scene because of smoke from the fires further north. At midday, the cars were still driving headlights on as if the sun had still not risen.
At midday, the mixture of fog and smoke gave the city a surreal atmosphere as if the sun had still not risen. Authorities have been giving daily information for weeks on air quality, and regularly advise vulnerable people not to go out.
Nearly a thousand firefighters were fighting the fire known as Creek Fire in the Fresno area (central), which spread over more than 65,000 hectares.
Further south, near Los Angeles, the Bobcat Fire devastated more than 4,500 acres and was still out of control, according to county firefighters. “Be prepared and follow the instructions: get set, go”, they underlined to the address of the inhabitants of this area who could be ordered to evacuate. Evacuation orders have also been issued for the threatened population near San Diego.
California Democratic Governor Gary Newsom has spoken out against the catastrophic consequences of climate change. “I’m literally losing patience with climate skeptics” he said. “This point of view is in total contradiction with the reality on the ground. “
California has experienced very hot weather in recent days. The mercury rose to 49 ° C in Woodland Hills on Sunday, a record for Los Angeles County, according to the National Weather Service.
A heat wave had already hit California in mid-August, where a record temperature of 54.4 ° C in the shade was recorded in Death Valley, one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth.
The fire has ravaged over 10,000 km this year2 in the state, a record, while the fire season runs until November. “We just don’t have enough resources to contain all the fires”, regretted Randy Moore, regional manager of forestry services.
