Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she expects the state’s uncontrolled wildfires to get worse as high winds and hot, dry weather fuel fires up and down the West Coast.
“It could be the greatest loss in human lives and property in our state’s history,” Brown said.
Five incident management teams, which include more than 3,000 firefighters, are battling 35 wildfires around Oregon, state officials reported.
According to Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management, dozens of fires around the state began during Labor Day weekend.
More than 300,000 acres have been blackened by wildfires across Oregon this week, Brown said.
Brown invoked the Fire Conflagration Act statewide, granting the state fire marshal power to direct resources to local municipalities. Under Brown’s orders on Wednesday, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management has requested federal aid along with Washington and California.
Brown said the Oregonian communities of Detroit, Blue River, Vida, Phoenix, and Talent are “substantially destroyed.”
Wildfires burning through Clackamas County have destroyed an estimated 22 structures and threaten 600 more, officials said.
Clackamas Fire District Chief Fred Charlton said during a press briefing on Wednesday that high temperatures and higher winds throughout the region could worsen coming hours
Clackamas County remains under various evacuation notices as of Wednesday afternoon.
Extremely poor air quality has characterized Pacific Northwestern skies in just the past three days.
On Wednesday, cities in Marion County from Salem to Woodburn registered as “Beyond Index” on the federal AirNow air quality index. Cities in Lane County such as Eugene and Springfield were listed as “Hazardous.” Multnomah County cities including Portland were identified as “Unhealthy for sensitive groups.”
Dowty Road Fire is burning in the Clackamas and Estacada Fire Districts and is 2,000 acres strong. The uncontrolled fire has destroyed six houses and threatens 400 more structures.
The Estacada Fire District is further fighting the uncontrolled 40,000 acre Riverside Fire, which has destroyed five houses and endangering 30 more structures.
South of the city of Molalla, Oregon, the Willhoit Fire has burned at least one home and threatens 10 other structures.
“The next several days are going to be extremely difficult,” Brown said. “Please pay attention to directions from firefighters, local officials and emergency responders. If you are asked to evacuate, do so immediately.”
Hundreds of families from around the state are evacuating to the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem along with their pets and livestock.
Oregon prisoners are also being moved into Salem’s state penitentiary in light of the region’s spreading wildfires, the Department of Corrections confirmed on Wednesday.
Oregon’s top four largest wildfires are the Santiam Fire in Marion County’s Santiam Canyon, the Lionshead Fire burning west of Warm Springs, the Holiday Farm Fire burning in Lane County, and Jackson County’s Almeda and Obenchain fires.
The Lionshead and Santiam fires have burned more than 200,000 acres combined while the Holiday Farm Fire in the Willamette Forest has grown from 37,000 acres to more than 100,000 acres in less than two days. The Almeda and Obenchain fires have burned more than 15,000 acres.
Doug Graf, the chief of fire protection for the Oregon Department of Forestry, reported that the strong winds in the region over the past week may die down by Thursday as cooler temperatures arrive over the next several days.
Chances for rain as well as 70 degree temperatures are forecast in Marion County on next Tuesday.
