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| Wildfires Live Updates: More Than Five Million Acres Have Burned | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The wildfires burning on the West Coast became an all but inescapable crisis around the country on Tuesday, with more than five million acres charred in Oregon, California and Washington State, tens of thousands of people displaced and at least 27 people dead. A hazardous shroud of smoke over cities in the Pacific Northwest has grounded flights, canceled classes and smothered neighborhoods with some the dirtiest air on the planet. | |
| In the states where the fires are burning worst the authorities were trying to adapt to a disaster with no clear end in sight, under conditions deeply exacerbated by climate change. Fires continued to spread in Idaho and in the hills above Los Angeles, where flames threatened the iconic Mount Wilson Observatory. Milky smoke clouded the skies over much of the Midwest and haze reached as far as New York City. | |
| The Bay Area, under a choking blanket of smoke for four weeks, set another record for consecutive warnings about hazardous air. The Oregon State Police established a mobile morgue as teams searched incinerated buildings for survivors and the dead. Alaska Airlines suspended flights out of Portland, Ore., and Spokane, Wash., citing “thick smoke and haze.” And Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon requested a presidential disaster declaration, saying late Monday that “to fight fires of this scale, we need all the help we can get.” | |
| Gov. Gavin Newsom of California met with President Trump on Monday in McClellan Park, near Sacramento, thanking him for federal help and agreeing that forest management could be better — while also noting that 3 percent of land in California is under state control, compared with 57 percent under federal control. The governors of all three states stressed that climate change had made fires more dangerous, drying forests with rising heat and priming them to burn, science that on Monday the president denied. | |
| “The rules of fighting wildfires are changing because our climate is changing,” Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington wrote in an open letter on Monday. “There is no fire suppression plan on this planet that does anyone any good if it doesn’t even acknowledge the role of climate change.” | “The rules of fighting wildfires are changing because our climate is changing,” Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington wrote in an open letter on Monday. “There is no fire suppression plan on this planet that does anyone any good if it doesn’t even acknowledge the role of climate change.” |
| Addressing Mr. Trump directly, he wrote, “I hope you had an enlightening trip to the West Coast, where your refusal to address climate change — and your active steps to allow even more carbon pollution — will accelerate devastating wildfires like you are seeing today.” | Addressing Mr. Trump directly, he wrote, “I hope you had an enlightening trip to the West Coast, where your refusal to address climate change — and your active steps to allow even more carbon pollution — will accelerate devastating wildfires like you are seeing today.” |
| Firefighters continued trying to contain the dozens of fires on Tuesday morning. In California, the August Complex Fire, which has burned more than 750,000 acres northwest of Sacramento, was about 30 percent contained, and the Creek Fire northeast of Fresno, which has burned more than 200,000 acres, was about 16 percent contained. | |
| In Oregon, tens of thousands of people were still under evacuation orders and the Beachie Creek Fire, east of Salem, grew to burn almost 200,000 acres. | |
| With dozens of fires burning through millions of acres in Oregon and California, meteorologists are keeping watch on how the winds and humidity could affect efforts to battle them. While strong wind gusts are still possible, forecasters said that regions with some of the most destructive fires would benefit from gentler winds on Tuesday. | With dozens of fires burning through millions of acres in Oregon and California, meteorologists are keeping watch on how the winds and humidity could affect efforts to battle them. While strong wind gusts are still possible, forecasters said that regions with some of the most destructive fires would benefit from gentler winds on Tuesday. |
| Nearly three dozen fires have burned through more than 950,000 acres in Oregon. In California, the North Complex fire of more than 264,000 acres has been 39 percent contained, while the August Complex fire has burned 755,000 acres, only 30 percent contained. | |
| On Tuesday, winds are expected to ease but smoke and haze will continue to blanket the sky over Northern California, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures will waver between the low 70s to mid-80s in the valley and the North Complex fire region. | On Tuesday, winds are expected to ease but smoke and haze will continue to blanket the sky over Northern California, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures will waver between the low 70s to mid-80s in the valley and the North Complex fire region. |
| “There won’t be much wind over that fire area today,” Jim Mathews, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. “I don’t think there would be adverse conditions.” | “There won’t be much wind over that fire area today,” Jim Mathews, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. “I don’t think there would be adverse conditions.” |
| Humidity will be in the teens to low 20s, he said. | Humidity will be in the teens to low 20s, he said. |
| “We should see an improvement,” Mr. Mathews added. “More sunshine will be filtering through the smoke and that is due to the southwest flow beginning to stir the atmosphere. But the air quality is still forecast to be unhealthy.” | “We should see an improvement,” Mr. Mathews added. “More sunshine will be filtering through the smoke and that is due to the southwest flow beginning to stir the atmosphere. But the air quality is still forecast to be unhealthy.” |
| In Oregon, a “red flag” warning of dangerous fire conditions remained in effect east of the Cascades, and there was little moisture in the air. But most of the larger fires in the state are burning west of the mountains and the firefighters battling them were expected to be spared the higher winds. | In Oregon, a “red flag” warning of dangerous fire conditions remained in effect east of the Cascades, and there was little moisture in the air. But most of the larger fires in the state are burning west of the mountains and the firefighters battling them were expected to be spared the higher winds. |
| “The strongest winds I have west of the Cascades is generally gusts of around 15 miles per hour today,” said Charles Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oregon. | “The strongest winds I have west of the Cascades is generally gusts of around 15 miles per hour today,” said Charles Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oregon. |
| But east of the Cascades, there will be higher winds and low humidity, making conditions “more dangerous than usual,” Mr. Smith said. “If there are any new fires they will have a problem in their initial attack,” he added, referring to firefighting. | But east of the Cascades, there will be higher winds and low humidity, making conditions “more dangerous than usual,” Mr. Smith said. “If there are any new fires they will have a problem in their initial attack,” he added, referring to firefighting. |
| Phoenix, Ore., a town in of 4,500 people about 20 miles from the California border, has seen maybe more destruction from fire than any other town this year. | Phoenix, Ore., a town in of 4,500 people about 20 miles from the California border, has seen maybe more destruction from fire than any other town this year. |
| In the span of a few hours on Sept. 8, the Almeda Fire traveled up the freeway and through Phoenix and neighboring Talent, laying waste to much of the towns. Local officials estimated that the fire destroyed nearly 1,800 homes and businesses. | In the span of a few hours on Sept. 8, the Almeda Fire traveled up the freeway and through Phoenix and neighboring Talent, laying waste to much of the towns. Local officials estimated that the fire destroyed nearly 1,800 homes and businesses. |
| The ruin was so widespread that a week later, authorities had still blocked entry to the town, worried about the danger of downed power lines and sinkholes. That left Jack Nicas, a Times reporter, standing on the outskirts of town, struggling to find a way in. | The ruin was so widespread that a week later, authorities had still blocked entry to the town, worried about the danger of downed power lines and sinkholes. That left Jack Nicas, a Times reporter, standing on the outskirts of town, struggling to find a way in. |
| Then a yellow school bus pulled up, piloted by a local pastor. “I can take you there,” said the pastor, Lee Gregory. “No one else can.” | Then a yellow school bus pulled up, piloted by a local pastor. “I can take you there,” said the pastor, Lee Gregory. “No one else can.” |
| What followed was an emotional tour through the destruction. A dozen of the mobile-home parks that housed retirees and immigrant farm workers were destroyed, including where Ramona Curiel de Pacheco lived with her family. Mexican immigrants, they had built a happy life in Phoenix, but now their home was gone and they didn’t have insurance. “Everything of ours burned,” she said. “We couldn’t even get our children’s papers.” | What followed was an emotional tour through the destruction. A dozen of the mobile-home parks that housed retirees and immigrant farm workers were destroyed, including where Ramona Curiel de Pacheco lived with her family. Mexican immigrants, they had built a happy life in Phoenix, but now their home was gone and they didn’t have insurance. “Everything of ours burned,” she said. “We couldn’t even get our children’s papers.” |
| Also burned was Barkley’s Tavern, long Phoenix’s lone bar, built in 1898. Mr. Gregory got out of the bus to peer at the charred remains. “Like most taverns, a place where people found a lot of fellowship and friendship,” he said. | Also burned was Barkley’s Tavern, long Phoenix’s lone bar, built in 1898. Mr. Gregory got out of the bus to peer at the charred remains. “Like most taverns, a place where people found a lot of fellowship and friendship,” he said. |
| Just past Phoenix, in Talent, Daniel Verner was searching the rubble of his former home for the box that held the ashes of his late wife. She had died of cancer 11 months earlier. Next door, Cherie Grubbs was looking for mementos of her son, who was murdered in 2011. | Just past Phoenix, in Talent, Daniel Verner was searching the rubble of his former home for the box that held the ashes of his late wife. She had died of cancer 11 months earlier. Next door, Cherie Grubbs was looking for mementos of her son, who was murdered in 2011. |
| The neighbors were in a relationship, forged by heartache. “We kind of shared this incredible, unbearable grief,” Ms. Grubbs said. “We kind of thought we paid our grief dues.” | The neighbors were in a relationship, forged by heartache. “We kind of shared this incredible, unbearable grief,” Ms. Grubbs said. “We kind of thought we paid our grief dues.” |
| As wildfires have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate in the Pacific Northwest, it has also stoked fear in rural communities, where some locals have set up checkpoints manned by armed vigilantes. | |
| False rumors have swirled about left-wing extremists starting fires and plundering abandoned neighborhoods. Spray-painted signs in yards and along rural roads warned that looters would be shot on sight. One ominously promised: “We won’t call your family. Your body will never be found!” | |
| The authorities say they have few reports of criminal activity associated with the fires but that has done little to alleviate panic in rural communities, largely focused on nearby Portland, Ore., which has had downtown protests for months. In Clackamas County, a rural stretch of farms and mountains south of Portland that have been ravaged by the Riverside Fire, the authorities say that calls to 911 increased 400 percent over their normal volume. | |
| “The majority of those calls are actually unfounded,” Sheriff Craig Roberts of Clackamas County said in a news conference on Monday. He said many of the people going into communities were not looters, but residents or neighbors offering help. But his officers have encountered armed citizens stopping people at gunpoint in an attempt to protect communities from looting he said does not exist. | |
| “Please, stop that,” he said. “Call us, let us handle it. It’s illegal to stop someone at gunpoint and many of the people we have seen going into these areas are actually going in to get another load of their personal belongings.” | |
| Alissa Azar, a freelance journalist, was taking pictures along the roadside as fire bore down on the tiny town of Molalla in a farming region an hour’s drive south of Portland. She got down on one knee to snap a photo of a fire danger sign, she said, and when she looked up three men were pointing assault rifles at her. | |
| “They were very hostile, very aggressive, demanding to know what I was doing,” she said. Ms. Azar said the men berated her and two other journalists as they tried to work. | |
| “I’ve been covering the protests since they started, but I didn’t expect to find any kind of confrontation covering the fire,” she said. | |
| Law enforcement has also had to combat unsubstantiated rumors that the fires themselves are the result of left-wing extremists. In rural Douglas County south of Eugene, the sheriff’s office posted a message to Facebook last week warning that rumors and unfounded conspiracy theories were making a bad situation worse. | |
| In Idaho, hundreds of firefighters continue to battle more than a dozen fires burning in steep, dry forests and shrublands. | In Idaho, hundreds of firefighters continue to battle more than a dozen fires burning in steep, dry forests and shrublands. |
| The largest blaze, the Woodhead Fire, grew to nearly 70,000 acres Monday, forcing the evacuation of about 40 campers and residents in the sparsely populated patchwork of grazing land and National Forest near the Oregon border. | The largest blaze, the Woodhead Fire, grew to nearly 70,000 acres Monday, forcing the evacuation of about 40 campers and residents in the sparsely populated patchwork of grazing land and National Forest near the Oregon border. |
| None of the state’s fires compare in size to the megafires ravaging the West Coast, but with resources stretched thin and forecasts calling for continued dry weather, local fire teams were keeping a wary eye on the blazes. | None of the state’s fires compare in size to the megafires ravaging the West Coast, but with resources stretched thin and forecasts calling for continued dry weather, local fire teams were keeping a wary eye on the blazes. |
| On Tuesday, calm winds slowed the Woodhead Fire’s spread, said Jim Mackensen, a Forest Service spokesman. But, he cautioned, “It’s still chugging away. The winds don’t have to be there, we have such extremely dry conditions that the fire can spread fine on its own.” | On Tuesday, calm winds slowed the Woodhead Fire’s spread, said Jim Mackensen, a Forest Service spokesman. But, he cautioned, “It’s still chugging away. The winds don’t have to be there, we have such extremely dry conditions that the fire can spread fine on its own.” |
| Several counties in the state are cloaked in smoke from fires on the coast, prompting the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to issue warnings about unhealthy air for much of the state. | Several counties in the state are cloaked in smoke from fires on the coast, prompting the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to issue warnings about unhealthy air for much of the state. |
| With massive fires scattered from Los Angeles to near the Canadian border, the entire West Coast is swathed in smoke. Many cities on the coast got some relief Tuesday as winds shifted and the apocalyptic orange skies that loomed over places like San Francisco a week ago faded to a gloomy haze. | With massive fires scattered from Los Angeles to near the Canadian border, the entire West Coast is swathed in smoke. Many cities on the coast got some relief Tuesday as winds shifted and the apocalyptic orange skies that loomed over places like San Francisco a week ago faded to a gloomy haze. |
| But farther inland fires continued to churn out massive clouds of smoke that cloaked much of interior in acrid, hazardous air. The entire state of Oregon is under a smoke advisory through Thursday, warning children, the elderly and people with health conditions to stay inside. Around Portland, several school districts canceled classes Tuesday because of the smoke. | But farther inland fires continued to churn out massive clouds of smoke that cloaked much of interior in acrid, hazardous air. The entire state of Oregon is under a smoke advisory through Thursday, warning children, the elderly and people with health conditions to stay inside. Around Portland, several school districts canceled classes Tuesday because of the smoke. |
| Even the haze on the East Coast is the result of the smoke from all the wildfires out west, said Michael Souza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. | Even the haze on the East Coast is the result of the smoke from all the wildfires out west, said Michael Souza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va. |
| Mr. Souza said the smoke made its way across the country because of a “perfect combination” of conditions — the way in which the jet stream was being perturbed as well as a high-pressure system that is right over the Great Lakes. | Mr. Souza said the smoke made its way across the country because of a “perfect combination” of conditions — the way in which the jet stream was being perturbed as well as a high-pressure system that is right over the Great Lakes. |
| The smoke is very high up in the atmosphere, he said, and the long distance from the fires means that the Eastern United States will not see any apocalyptic skies or air quality concerns. | The smoke is very high up in the atmosphere, he said, and the long distance from the fires means that the Eastern United States will not see any apocalyptic skies or air quality concerns. |
| With wildfires burning across the West, climate change took center stage in the race for the White House on Monday as former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. called President Trump a “climate arsonist” while the president said that “I don’t think science knows” what is actually happening. | |
| A day of dueling appearances laid out the stark differences between the two candidates, an incumbent president who has long scorned climate change as a hoax and rolled back environmental regulations and a challenger who has called for an aggressive campaign to curb the greenhouse gases blamed for increasingly extreme weather. | A day of dueling appearances laid out the stark differences between the two candidates, an incumbent president who has long scorned climate change as a hoax and rolled back environmental regulations and a challenger who has called for an aggressive campaign to curb the greenhouse gases blamed for increasingly extreme weather. |
| Mr. Trump flew to California after weeks of public silence about the flames that have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, wiped out communities and forests, burned millions of acres, shrouded the region in smoke and left at least 27 people dead. But even when confronted by California’s governor and other state officials, the president insisted on attributing the crisis solely to poor forest management, not climate change. | Mr. Trump flew to California after weeks of public silence about the flames that have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, wiped out communities and forests, burned millions of acres, shrouded the region in smoke and left at least 27 people dead. But even when confronted by California’s governor and other state officials, the president insisted on attributing the crisis solely to poor forest management, not climate change. |
| Mr. Biden, for his part, assailed Mr. Trump’s record on the climate, asserting that the president’s inaction and denial had fed destruction, citing not just the current emergency on the West Coast but flooding in the Midwest and hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. In an outdoor speech at a museum in Wilmington, Del., the Democratic presidential nominee sought to paint a second Trump term as a danger to the nation’s suburbs, flipping an attack on him by the president. | Mr. Biden, for his part, assailed Mr. Trump’s record on the climate, asserting that the president’s inaction and denial had fed destruction, citing not just the current emergency on the West Coast but flooding in the Midwest and hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. In an outdoor speech at a museum in Wilmington, Del., the Democratic presidential nominee sought to paint a second Trump term as a danger to the nation’s suburbs, flipping an attack on him by the president. |
| “If we have four more years of Trump’s climate denial, how many suburbs will be burned in wildfires?” Mr. Biden asked. “How many suburban neighborhoods will have been flooded out? How many suburbs will have been blown away in superstorms? If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?” | “If we have four more years of Trump’s climate denial, how many suburbs will be burned in wildfires?” Mr. Biden asked. “How many suburban neighborhoods will have been flooded out? How many suburbs will have been blown away in superstorms? If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of America ablaze?” |
| As wildfires burned near his home in Northern California, the climate reporter Abrahm Lustgarten asked himself: Was it finally time to leave for good? | As wildfires burned near his home in Northern California, the climate reporter Abrahm Lustgarten asked himself: Was it finally time to leave for good? |
| For years, many Americans had avoided confronting the increasing environmental dangers in their own backyards: fires, hurricanes, extreme heat, rising seas. | For years, many Americans had avoided confronting the increasing environmental dangers in their own backyards: fires, hurricanes, extreme heat, rising seas. |
| But this year felt different. Would others finally wake up to how climate change was about to transform their lives? Would they start to relocate? | But this year felt different. Would others finally wake up to how climate change was about to transform their lives? Would they start to relocate? |
| And if so, was it possible to project where we might go? | And if so, was it possible to project where we might go? |
| To answer these questions, he interviewed more than four dozen experts: economists and demographers, climate scientists and insurance executives, architects and urban planners, and mapped out the danger zones that will close in on Americans over the next 30 years. | To answer these questions, he interviewed more than four dozen experts: economists and demographers, climate scientists and insurance executives, architects and urban planners, and mapped out the danger zones that will close in on Americans over the next 30 years. |
| What he found was a nation on the cusp of a great transformation. Across the United States, some 162 million people — nearly one in two — will most likely experience a decline in the quality of their environment, namely more heat and less water. For 93 million of them, the changes could be particularly severe, and by 2070, analysis suggests, if carbon emissions rise at extreme levels, at least four million Americans could find themselves living at the fringe, in places decidedly outside the ideal niche for human life. | What he found was a nation on the cusp of a great transformation. Across the United States, some 162 million people — nearly one in two — will most likely experience a decline in the quality of their environment, namely more heat and less water. For 93 million of them, the changes could be particularly severe, and by 2070, analysis suggests, if carbon emissions rise at extreme levels, at least four million Americans could find themselves living at the fringe, in places decidedly outside the ideal niche for human life. |
| Then what? One influential 2018 study, published in The Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, suggests that one in 12 Americans in the Southern half of the country will move toward California, the Mountain West or the Northwest over the next 45 years because of climate influences alone. Such a shift in population is likely to increase poverty and widen the gulf between the rich and the poor. | Then what? One influential 2018 study, published in The Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, suggests that one in 12 Americans in the Southern half of the country will move toward California, the Mountain West or the Northwest over the next 45 years because of climate influences alone. Such a shift in population is likely to increase poverty and widen the gulf between the rich and the poor. |
| Reporting was contributed by Peter Baker, Lisa Friedman, Christine Hauser, Thomas Kaplan, Dave Philipps and Alan Yuhas. | |