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United States: fires ravage the entire west coast, hundreds of homes destroyed

2020-09-09T21:57:27.400Z


The fires spread from the northwest, on the border with Canada, to the Mexican border, near San Diego, California.


A feeling of "hell" and an apocalypse sky: fueled by drought and strong winds, fires of historic proportions continued to ravage the west coast of the United States, from California to the State of Washington, resulting in thousands of evacuations and the destruction of hundreds of homes.

The fires extend from the border with Canada, in Washington State, to the Mexican border, near San Diego (California), where nearly 7,000 hectares went up in smoke in the Valley Fire, according to local authorities.

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.

In California, the sky is tinged with orange because of the flames, as on this road to Concord.

Brittany Hosea-Small / AFP  

More than twenty fires are raging in California and nearly a thousand firefighters were fighting the fire called Creek Fire in the Fresno region (central) which has spread over more than 65,000 hectares.

Residents evacuated

Near Los Angeles, the Bobcat Fire devastated more than 4,500 acres and was still out of control, county firefighters said.

"Be prepared and follow the instructions: ready, go", they stressed 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.

In Oregon, Governor Kate Brown has deplored an "unprecedented" series of fires this year.

“Almost every year since I became governor (in 2015), I have seen historic fire seasons,” she added.

"This is no longer the Washington before"

Jody Evans, a resident of Detroit, Oregon, said she felt like she was "going through hell" while fleeing the flames that threatened her home.

"The fire on both sides of the road, the fallen trees, the wind blowing, the ash flying," she told local Newschannel 21.

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Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said on Tuesday that nine "significant" fires burned more than 133,000 ha in 24 hours, more than double the area burned for all of 2019.

Yesterday, 330,000 acres burned in WA.



That's more than 12 of the last 18 entire fire seasons.



In a single day.

pic.twitter.com/Op7UEfhTNA

- Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) September 8, 2020

"We live in a new world, it is no longer the Washington of before," he said, 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, post office and town hall "have completely burned down," Sheriff Brett Myers said in a statement.

“There are no words to describe the extent of the damage,” added Brett Myers.

“The fire will be put out, but a whole community is forever transformed.

"

Air pollution alert

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.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom also denounced the catastrophic consequences of climate change.

Fires in California: "The situation is more and more catastrophic"

“I'm literally losing my 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 on Sunday in Woodland Hills, 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 the Valley of Death, one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth.

Worry about the winds

The fire has devastated more than 8,000 km2 in the state this year, a record since 1987, and killed at least eight people, according to firefighters, while the fire season runs until November.

And experts are worried about the expected strengthening of winds on the coast, which are expected to reach nearly 90 km / h in gusts on Wednesday.

“We just don't have enough resources to contain all the fires,” said Randy Moore, regional forest services manager.

Source: leparis

All life articles on 2020-09-09

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