Historic wildfires raging across California, Oregon, and Washington have killed at least seven people, destroyed hundreds of homes, and forced tens of thousands to evacuate.
Dangerous fire conditions are expected to continue.
The three states are facing unprecedented wildfire seasons this year. California has at least 24 large fires burning, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Oregon has 14 and Washington has 12; These numbers do not include the many smaller fires.
“The low humidity, the high temperatures, the winds have all combined to stymie some of the most aggressive firefighting activities,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said at a news conference late Wednesday.
“California, Oregon, Washington, we are all in the same soup of cataclysmic fire,” he added.
Several of the deceased victims were trying to escape the flames. Children and pets were found in addition to adults.
Because of the widespread fires, the U.S. Forest Service announced a temporary closure of all 18 national forests in California.
