Ten percent of Oregon residents ordered to evacuate as wildfires rip through state

“Thousands of evacuated Oregonians are sleeping in motels, on cots in shelters, or with friends/family. Please know that we are doing everything in our power to fight these fires. We are working hard to keep you safe & help you deal with the aftermath,” Brown tweeted on Thursday night. “We will get through this.”

There were 38 active fires burning more than 805,000 acres in Oregon as of Friday morning. Beachie Creek Fire, the largest blaze, is burning 185,000 acres east of Salem. That fire is 0% contained and has claimed the lives of two people in the area. The Holiday Farm Fire has covered 144,000 acres east of Eugene and is also 0% contained.

The Riverside Fire is burning 120,000 acres and is 0% contained. Doug Grafe, chief of fire protection at the Oregon Department of Forestry, told the Oregonian that he expects the Riverside Fire to merge with the Beachie Creek Fire by Friday.

“We fully expect those two fires to combine,” Grafe said. “This fire will continue to push near Molalla. We really need these winds to stop for the forward spread to stop.”

President Trump approved an emergency declaration from the state and sent resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help those who have been displaced by the fire. Many of those who have been evacuated have been directed to the Oregon Convention Center and other locations in Portland.

Oregon has been warning residents about evacuation notices in phases. Cities in a Phase 2 warning are ordered to prepare to evacuate while cities in Phase 3 must leave their homes. As the fires spread, some cities that were used to house residents evacuated from nearby areas are being evacuated, as well, forcing some families to pick another location for their evacuation.

With roughly 10% of Oregon’s 4.2 million people evacuating the area, highways have been flooded with vehicles causing traffic to move at a crawl. Mayor Sean Drinkwine, whose city of Estacada was ordered to evacuate, said many of his residents have been terrified as the fire roars less than two miles from the city.

“I never thought I would see this day as a mayor of my city, but it’s here, and my people are frightened,” Drinkwine told Oregon Live.

Fires are also roaring south of Oregon in California. The North Complex fire, which is burning in northern California, has claimed the lives of at least 10 individuals, making it the deadliest fire of the year.