OVER THE WEEKEND, THERE WERE AT LEAST 19 DIFFERENT WILDFIRES BURNING IN WASHINGTON AND OREGON.
ALMOST 300 THOUSAND ACRES ARE SCORCHED, WHILE SOME 5000 FIREFIGHTERS ARE WORKING THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
OREGON’S CEDAR CREEK FIRE MEASURED AT MORE THAN 85 THOUSAND ACRES SUNDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES, STRONG WINDS AND BONE-DRY CONDITIONS ARE HAMPERING CONTAINMENT EFFORTS. MORE THAN 2 THOUSAND HOMES AND HUNDREDS OF COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES ARE AT RISK OF BURNING.
IN WASHINGTON, THE BOLT CREEK FIRE HAS ALREADY BURNED MORE THAN 12 SQUARE MILES OF FORESTLAND ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF EAST OF SEATTLE.
EVACUATION ORDERS WERE ISSUED FOR AREAS AROUND SEVERAL ACTIVE FIRES IN THE TWO NORTHWEST STATES, BUT AUTHORITIES SAID NOT EVERYONE IS QUICK TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES. ONE WASHINGTON COUNTY REPORTED ONLY HALF OF THOSE ORDERED TO LEAVE COMPLIED.
POWER WAS CUT TO SEVERAL TRANSMISSION LINES IN OREGON OVER THE WEEKEND IN AN EFFORT TO PREVENT MORE FIRES.
IT’S A LESSON LEARNED FROM THE STATE’S SOUTHERN NEIGHBOR, CALIFORNIA, WHERE CREWS ARE TRYING TO EXTINGUISH SEVERAL MORE MASSIVE FIRES.
SCIENTISTS SAY CLIMATE CHANGE AND A LACK OF CONTROLLED BURNS ARE CONTRIBUTING TO MORE AND LARGER WILDFIRES
THIS WEEKEND ALONE, THERE WERE MORE THAN 400 SQUARE MILES OF ACTIVE, UNCONTAINED FIRES BURNING IN WASHINGTON AND OREGON
AND IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS, CALIFORNIA HAS EXPERIENCED THE LARGEST AND MOST DESTRUCTIVE FIRES IN STATE HISTORY.