PORTLAND: An unprecedented spate of fierce, wind-driven wildfires in the US western state of Oregon have all but destroyed five small towns, leaving a potentially high death toll in their wake, the governor said on Wednesday, as initial casualty reports began to surface.
Hundreds of miles away in northern California, three fatalities were confirmed on Wednesday from a lightning-sparked conflagration that raged with renewed intensity this week after firefighters had made significant headway containing it.
While more than two dozen major blazes continued to wreak havoc across wide swaths of California, Oregon bore the latest brunt of wildfires plaguing much of the western US over the past week.
Winds of up to 50 kmph sent flames racing tens of miles within hours, engulfing hundreds of homes as firefighters fought at least 35 large blazes in Oregon.
Communities destroyed
Several communities, including the town of Detroit in the Santiam Valley, as well as Blue River and Vida in coastal Lane County, and Phoenix and Talent in southern Oregon, were substantially destroyed, Governor Kate Brown told a news conference.
“This could be the greatest loss in human lives and property due to wildfire in our state’s history,” Brown said, without providing details.