Raging wildfires in the West have now killed at least 23 people and burned a swath of land nearly the size of New Jersey
OROVILLE, Calif. – Wildfires raced through more than a dozen Western states Thursday, incinerating homes, forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations, and burning a swath of land almost the size of New Jersey.that have consumed nearly 7,000 square miles. Authorities in Oregon say more than 500,000 people statewide have been forced to evacuate because of wildfires - over 10% of the state’s 4.2 million population.
John Sykes, a 50-year resident, fled with his car and some clothes. He watched the town of Berry Creek burn from about a mile away. "You couldn’t really see anything. There was smoke everywhere. We were in too much smoke to see flames," Alec said. “At first we were like it was just another fire. Then it got real.”
“We’re encouraged that the wind activity appears to be dying down,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “The rest of the week looks a little more favorable.” In addition, a stagnant air mass will likely keep areas of smoke in place across the Northwest, Great Basin, California and other areas across the West dealing with the wildfires, resulting in continued poor air quality, AccuWeather said.
“There were flames across the street from me, flames to the right of me, flames to the left of me. I just watched everything burn,” Weir said.Fires were burning in seven Oregon counties, and the Almeda Drive Fire in southern Oregon prompted evacuation orders in much of Medford, a city of about 80,000 residents.
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