Wildfires across the American West burned millions of acres and killed a total of at least 15 people by Thursday, as firefighters continued working to contain some of the fastest-growing blazes ever seen. Fueled by high winds and dry conditions, fires in Oregon, California and Washington state have destroyed homes and forced last-minute evacuations, displacing thousands of residents amid the coronavirus pandemic. There were at least 85 large, uncontained fires burning in California, Oregon, Washington and other Western states on Thursday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Oregon has never seen so many uncontained fires at once, Gov. More than 900,000 acres have burned already, compared to an average of 500,000 a year for the past decade.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 10, 2020 18:51 UTC