the opening credits
The devastating
bush and forest fires
on the west coast of the United States have now devastated entire towns and killed at least
six other people
.
Five cities in the state of Oregon were "largely destroyed," as
Governor Kate Brown described
on Wednesday.
The authorities warned that the
number of victims
could increase in the next few days as many areas are completely
cut off
from the outside world
.
Evacuation areas for #TwoFourTwoFire, as of Sept. 9, 2020 (from this evenings town hall meeting).
For a downloadable, printable version of this map, click here - https://t.co/PA5YLEknd6 pic.twitter.com/FKQauR72Eb
- SCOFMP Fire Info (@scofmpfireinfo) September 10, 2020
Forest fires in California / USA: One year old baby dies
A
one-year-old baby was
among the fatalities
.
According to police, the boy died on Wednesday in Washington state when his parents fled the flames with him.
The parents survived seriously injured.
According to police reports, the bodies of two victims of the fire disaster were found in the Marion district of Oregon.
According to local media, it was a
twelve-year-old boy
and his
grandmother
.
Three fatalities were also found in Northern California.
Previously, at least eight people in California had been killed in the wildly raging bush and forest fires there for weeks.
Only "smoking ruins" remain of large parts of the city of Talent in Oregon, as resident Sandra Spelliscy told the AFP news agency: "There are several parts of the city where there is not a single building left, only the skeletons of chimneys or charred household appliances."
Forest fires in California: Hundreds of homes destroyed
The renewed massive spread of the fires is
facilitated
by a
heat wave
and
dry wind
.
Hundreds more houses have been destroyed since the weekend, tens of thousands of people had to flee from the flames.
The catastrophe could become
"the greatest loss of human life and property"
to bush and forest fires in Oregon's history, warned Governor Brown.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee also called the extent of the fire
"unprecedented and heartbreaking
.
"
He blamed climate change for the fires.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said that in the face of the fires, he had no sympathy for climate change deniers: "It has absolutely nothing to do with the reality on the ground."
In California, the flames have already destroyed a record area of more than
8,000 square kilometers
.
The so-called Bear Fire recently spread at breakneck speed around 240 kilometers north of San Francisco.
It combined with older fires and threatened the city of Oroville.
Forest fires in California: Glowing flames over San Francisco
San Francisco
and other California regions awoke to an orange sky on Wednesday.
The phenomenon of the smoke of the fire, the mingled with fog and blocked sunlight was generated - this produced a surreal scene as in a
disaster film
.
More than
170,000 households
in California were without electricity because the utility company PG&E shut down the power grid in large parts of the state due to the extreme risk of forest fires.
According to the fire department, more than 3,000 buildings in California have been destroyed by the fire.
Bush and forest fires have risen sharply in California in recent years, for which experts believe global warming is partly responsible.
In November 2018, 86 people died in the north of the state in the most momentous forest fire in California's history.
(AFP / frs)
* Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital editorial network.
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