The Bear Fire killed three people on September 9, 2020 in Butte County, northern California.
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Noah Berger / AP / SIPA
The authorities are preparing to deplore "a considerable number of dead" in the fires which are still ravaging the American west coast this Saturday, where President Donald Trump announced that he would go on Monday in the countryside, now marked by the theme of climate change.
Fueled for days by chronic drought and high winds, dozens of fires have spread from the border of Canada to that of Mexico, in the states of Washington, Oregon and California.
"President Donald Trump will visit California on Monday where he will be briefed on the state fire situation," White House spokesperson Judd Deere said.
There he will meet officials of the emergency services, on the front line to fight fires that have already charred 1.2 million hectares in the state this year, a record.
At the very moment of this announcement, his Democratic opponent in the November presidential election, Joe Biden, denounced the responsibility for climate change, "an existential threat".
“President Trump may seek to deny the reality, but the facts are undeniable.
We absolutely must act to avoid a future marked by an endless deluge of tragedies, such as the one suffered by American families in the West today, ”he said in a statement.
"Like in a movie"
In total, at least sixteen victims were recorded this week, but it was still impossible to assess the true extent of the destruction.
The more than 20,000 firefighters battling the flames were counting on cooler and wetter weather to give them some breathing space this weekend.
"We are bracing for a significant death toll, based on what we know about the number of destroyed buildings," Andrew Phelps, director of emergency management services for Oregon said Friday.
More than 400,000 hectares have gone to ashes in this state, where three deaths have been recorded by the emergency services, who have not heard from dozens of other people.
The threatened areas concern 500,000 inhabitants in total in Oregon, and a little more than 40,000 people had actually been evacuated Friday at midday, specified the governor Kate Brown.
"It's like in a movie, you don't expect it to happen to you, but when it does it's just scary," said Carrie Clarke, evacuee from the town of Molalla, near the great city of Portland.
The latter woke up this Saturday under a thick haze caused by smoke, giving the air a smell of wood fire.
Highest pollution rate
Residents were preparing to leave town temporarily, like Jessie, 37, who was heading for neighboring Idaho with his wife.
“It's like I've smoked 100 cigarettes,” he complained outside his car loaded with bags.
Along with Portland, the cities of San Francisco and Seattle were among those with the highest pollution rates in the world on Saturday, according to the ranking compiled by the IQAir company.
Governor Brown said that in just three days, the flames had consumed 360,000 acres in Oregon, double the vegetation that burns on average in a full year.
"We are seeing the devastating effects of climate change in Oregon, across the West Coast, and across the world," she insisted.
"Damn climate emergency"
"We expect the number (of dead) to increase as we return to areas devastated by the flames," also warned California Governor Gavin Newsom after surrendering in the smoking remains of a charred forest in the north of his state.
It was there, in Butte County, still traumatized by the memory of the November 2018 fires that left 86 people dead and burned the town of Paradise to ashes, that at least ten people perished in the flames this week, according to the latest relief report.
"It's a damn climate emergency, it's real and it's happening right now," insisted the governor of California.
In the northwest of the state, the fire dubbed "August Complex Fire", an assembly of 37 fires that affected the forest of Mendocino from August 17, officially became the largest in history in this state , with more than 300,000 hectares burned.
In Washington State, more than 250,000 acres burned in five days, Governor Jay Inslee reported on Twitter, the second largest area burned in a full season in state history.
This has already been the second worst fire season in state history.
It happened in 5 days.
pic.twitter.com/6n8LG51pFo
- Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) September 11, 2020
The fire season, which frequently lasts until November, is still far from over.
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