UPDATE (ETH) – More than 500,000 people statewide in Oregon have reportedly been forced to evacuate their homes from the ongoing deadly wildfires. This number equates to a shocking ten percent of the state’s 4.2 million population that is being evacuated.
According to a new report from the Associated Press, More than 1,400 square miles (3,625 square kilometers) have already been burned this week in Oregon. Meanwhile, as the fires continue to scorch the West Coast, the skies over California have taken an apocalyptic turn — covering the air with ash and smoke in some regions, while snuffing out sunlight in others.
According to Yahoo News, “Rarely have so many Californians breathed such unhealthy air.” “About half of the state’s population has been impacted by wildfire smoke levels exceeding air quality standards,” said Melanie Turner, a California Air Resources Board spokeswoman.
The report went further and stated that people downwind of the Bear fire — including those in Paradise, the site of a deadly 2018 blaze are being hit with the smoke from the fires, where many are unable to turn on air conditioners because of an intentional PG&E power outage.
The death toll from these fires has risen to a total to 10 and there is reportedly an unnerving prospect that that number will climb as searchers are looking for 16 missing people. “We’re still hoping and praying for good news,” said Jessica Fallon, who has two children with the Butler’s grandson and considers them her own grandparents. “Everything is replaceable, but not my grandparents’ lives. I’d rather lose everything than those two. They kind of held the family together.”
