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Fire ravaged place in Oregon
Photo: KATHRYN ELSESSER / AFP
At least 16 people died in the largest fires on the US west coast in memory, and more than 500,000 residents of affected areas had to leave their homes.
The actual number of victims as well as the extent of the damage literally remained in smoke on Friday, many towns in the states of California, Oregon and Washington were cut off from the outside world by gigantic walls of fire.
The flames were favored by strong winds and a heat wave.
An approaching weather front with cooler temperatures offers some hope.
Ten fatalities have been discovered since the beginning of the week in the Butte region of northern California alone.
According to the authorities, at least 16 people died in the fires along the west coast.
Among them was a one-year-old boy whose parents were with him on the run from a gigantic fire east of Seattle.
His parents were badly burned.
The authorities warned that further deaths were to be feared.
In
Oregon
, authorities had ordered half a million people to leave their homes and escape the fires.
The fight against the flames is now "primarily about saving human lives," said the state's fire department.
In Oregon alone there is currently more than 3,600 square kilometers of fire, an area the size of Mallorca.
Five cities have already been largely destroyed.
More uncontrolled fires in California than ever before
According to Gov. Kate Brown, twice as much land went up in flames in 72 hours than the average in a year.
"We have never seen so many uncontrolled fires in our state."
In the town of Molalla, police went door to door to make sure residents left their homes.
"It's awful, this is my home," said Denise Pentz, who has lived in town for eleven years, while she was loading her family's belongings into a trailer.
"It's one thing when you move out of your house. It's quite another to be told to leave."
But ultimately their babies, their husbands and pets are more important - "and that all my neighbors got out safely".
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Fire engine over the Angeles National Forest in California
Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
In
California,
on the other hand, more than ten thousand square kilometers of land had been burned by Friday morning.
On Thursday, multiple fires had combined to create the largest forest and bush fire the state has ever seen.
High temperatures and dry wind fuel the fire, which raged over an area of almost 2,000 square kilometers.
Gavin Newsom sees climate change as the cause of the disaster
California Governor Gavin Newsom gave hope to those affected and the 20,000 firefighters deployed on the west coast as the weather began to "cooperate".
It is forecast that the wind will decrease and some rain in the coming days.
California, Oregon and Washington have been battling fast-spreading forest fires since last weekend, compounded by an unprecedented heat wave and dry winds.
"We are in a climate crisis," said Newsom on a site visit to the burned-out forests near the village of Oroville.
Many scientists would have predicted this development years ago.
The democrat called for a stronger fight against climate change.
According to experts, climate change exacerbates drought, heat and weather extremes, which contribute to more violent forest fires.
This year California burned a record area of more than 12,500 square kilometers of land.
Six of the current fires are already among the 20 largest in the history of California since records began in 1930. In November 2018, 86 people died in the most momentous forest fire in California's history in the north of the state.
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oka / AFP / dpa
