United States: fires still ravage the west coast
Audio 01:35
Workers repair the electricity system in Mill City, northern Oregon, September 13, 2020. Flames forced the evacuation of 40,000 residents.
Rob SCHUMACHER / POOL / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
35 dead in fires devastating the American West, including at least 24 in Oregon alone.
Donald Trump was on a whirlwind visit to California on Monday, September 14.
The US president has once again denied the role of climate change in these mega-fires, as the governor of California asked him to recognize the reality of warming.
The rural areas most affected by these monster forest fires in California and Oregon are also often regions where Donald Trump has many supporters, and all of them adhere to his climate skepticism.
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With our special correspondent in Mill City (Oregon),
Éric de Salve
When a fire broke out on his street in Mill City, Oregon, John refused the firefighters' evacuation order.
There was no question of abandoning his house to the flames.
“
This is my house
!
He said naturally.
Finally, the fire stopped at the end of his garden.
Opposite, his neighbor's house is reduced to ashes.
The embers are still smoking.
“
My whole street was on fire,” he
says.
The firefighters were overwhelmed.
"
For a week, his town nestled in the forest has been deserted, ghostly, cordoned off by the army.
Mill City's 2,000 residents have all been evacuated, first of all because of the fire, then its thick and dangerous lingering fumes, which make the air unbreathable.
John stands there firmly.
“
I always have my gun with me, to defend my house and that of my neighbors.
"
"
Maintain forests instead of banning planes
"
John is an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump.
On the roof of his barn, a “
Trump 2020
”
flag is proudly
flown.
Like the president, this retired electrician refuses to believe that climate change could have played a role in these fires of unprecedented magnitude in Oregon.
“
Global warming, yes, that's it, maybe,
” he says.
But above all, I believe that the forests must be maintained so that they do not ignite like that anymore.
Instead of shutting down the entire oil industry, banning planes, cow farts, and whatnot
!
"
At the same time, Donald Trump, visiting California, invited local authorities not to worry about climate change: "
You will see,
it will eventually cool,
" assures the President of the United States.
►
To read also: Fires: the American West is preparing for "a considerable number of deaths"
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United States
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