The fire that ravages the west coast of the United States has killed at least seven people.

The fires burned 67,500 hectares, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes engulfed in flames.

The material damage is also very important.

The historic fires that continue to ravage the west coast of the United States have killed at least seven people, including an infant, and destroyed hundreds of homes, forcing thousands to flee the flames.

The fires spread from Washington State in the north, bordering Canada, to San Diego, in southern California, fueled by drought and high winds.

At least seven dead

The authorities fear a much heavier toll than the seven dead for the moment listed.

Three people have died in Butte County, California, three in Oregon as well as a one-year-old baby found by rescue teams with his parents severely burned in Washington state.

The fire burned 67,500 hectares, sowing desolation in its path: carcasses of cars or houses of which only the brick chimney remains.

About 360 buildings were destroyed, according to firefighters who deployed nearly a thousand men to fight the flames in the Sierra National Forest, smothering the outbreaks with water or earth.

Faced with the fire, several thousand people were evacuated, operations made even more difficult by the coronavirus epidemic.

Fires "" unprecedented in history "

Residents of Estacada, a small rural town in Oregon about 50 miles southeast of Portland, were ordered to evacuate at noon Wednesday.

Jason Valean, 29, has left his home with his two large dogs and is waiting to find his mother, who has returned home to open the pen for his pigs, who will thus have a chance to escape the flames.

"The whole other side is on fire," he told AFP, pointing to the orange smoke rising from the mountain.

Oregon is facing fires "unprecedented in the history" of the state, according to its governor, Kate Brown, who expected Wednesday "many losses, in terms of buildings and human lives".

Further south, near Fresno, California, other residents also had to flee within minutes.

"I did not think we were going to be evacuated, it was done at the last minute," Leanna Mikesler, a resident of the village of Meadow Lake threatened by the fire called Creek Fire, told AFP.

"We had to pack our bags, do what we can and help our neighbors," she added in front of an emergency accommodation center.