It’s been more than a week since the West saw an outbreak of wildfires. They continue to burn with no end in sight. Trump was briefed by state officials on Monday.
Historic drought, fueled by low humidity and Santa Anna winds have turned fire season into a year-long fight. The air is so toxic, it’s like smoking 20 packs of cigarettes every day. Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco now have some of the worst air quality in the world. The fires could burn well into November.
The town of Talent, Oregon has been wiped off the map due to the fires. Most people had little time to get out before the flames reached town.
In Oregon, officials are preparing for a mass casualty event as the flames continue out of control. Those who made it out have harrowing stories to tell.
Mandy McDonald is now homeless. “I went at the exact moment to come around the corner, only to see my house engulfed in flames and fall to the ground.”
Lake Oroville, California resident Denis Hendrickson was forced to flee her home. “I’ve survived four different fires and don’t even know if my house is still standing. Eight of us had to go to the end of our road … go into the sand and get down to the water to avoid the flames.”
Another California resident saw their home completely wiped out, two years after a fire claimed their home in a nearby community. “It hurts more this time I think than it did the last time. Getting things back together and having to rebuild is devastating.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom described this fire season as a perfect storm. “You have the Santa Anna winds and dry vegetation. This is the perfect fuel for a fire.” He also said the current situation is a climate emergency during a tour of an area north of Sacramento. More than 250,000 acres have burned so far. “The reality is the megafires we’re experiencing are a result of megadroughts caused by climate change.”
Scientists point to the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, that decimate forests and make them prone to fire outbreaks.
At least 35 fatalities are blamed on the wildfires out West. Destruction is beyond imaginable as whole communities and towns are wiped out.
Red flag warnings, signaling imminent fire danger, stretched from Southern Oregon to Northern California right now.
Authorities in Ashland, Oregon reported as many as 50 people could be missing after a fire broke out there. At least 10 fatalities are known so far in Oregon alone. This does not include California or Washington State.
Numerous studies in recent years have linked climate change caused by burning fossil fuels to bigger and more destructive wildfires.
The Democratic governors of all three states tell CBS News the fires are a consequence of climate change. They took aim at Donald Trump for downplaying the extent of climate change and its effects on wildfire season.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee told ABC’s This Week that it’s maddening when we have this cosmic challenge to communities and then have the president deny they’re wildfires.
At a Nevada rally, Trump blamed inadequate forest management as the direct cause of the fires. White House adviser Peter Navarro echoed that to CNN’s State of the Union. “For many years in California, particularly because of budget cuts, there was no inclination to manage the forests.”
Climate change is real and fire season is becoming year-round out West. While proper forest management can prevent some destruction, it will not prevent fires from happening.
