USA ; At least 8 people have been dead in the past 24 hours across California, Oregon and Washington, but officials say some areas are still impossible to reach, meaning the number is likely to rise.California firefighters battled the state’s largest-ever inferno Thursday, as thousands of people fled blazes up and down the US West Coast.In neighboring Oregon, where at least five towns have been “substantially destroyed” and up to 40,000 people evacuated, governor Kate Brown said twice the state’s annual average had burned in just the past 72 hours.
The August Complex Fire became the biggest recorded blaze in Californian history Thursday, after multiple fires in the state’s northwest combined amid high temperatures and winds to rip through 470,000 acres of dry vegetation.All three West Coast states have been scrambling to contain rapidly spreading wildfires since the weekend due to unprecedented heat waves followed by intense, dry winds.In Butte County, California, where three people have been killed, firefighters battled the flames through the night, after a day of apocalyptic orange skies over the Golden State.Another dozen people were reportedly unaccounted for in the area.
In the San Francisco area, Wednesday’s deep orange sky caused by wildfire smoke gave way to a wintry gray, but cars were still forced to drive with lights on in the gloom.Heavily polluted air meant schools and daycares were no longer letting children play outside, while seniors and vulnerable individuals were encouraged to stay inside.But the past days’ strong, dry winds eased off across much of the state, with severe weather warnings lifted for most of California. Humidity is expected to rise as temperatures cool through to next week, providing some relief, Cal Fire said.
Much of the smoke has blown down from the north, where the Bear Fire exploded at an unprecedented speed this week, combining with older blazes to threaten the town of Oroville.By Thursday it had covered 250,000 acres and was only 23 percent contained.Evacuation warnings were expanded to parts of the town of Paradise, the site of California’s deadliest modern fire which killed 86 people less than two years ago.Including eight California fire deaths last month, the region’s total reported death toll for this year is now 16.California has seen more than 3.1 million acres burn this year — an annual record, with nearly four months of fire season still to come.Governor Gavin Newsom blamed the ferocity of this year’s fires on climate change.
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