Chimney Sweep

Showers convey aid to fire-ravaged Oregon as loss of life toll rises in California

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BY BRAD BROOKS

Intermittent showers brought relief to flame-ravaged western Oregon on Friday, helping firefighters further suppress deadly flames that have ravaged much of the state and smothered its air with smoke for nearly two weeks.

Oregon was particularly hard hit by numerous wind-powered forest fires that broke out in the western United States earlier this month amid catastrophic thunderstorms, record-breaking heat and howling winds.

“We lost everything, but we’re going to start over,” said 73-year-old Bill Kesselring, pointing to the location of the log cabin he shared with his wife on the outskirts of Gates, Oregon, 80 miles south situated village in the Cascade Mountains that had stood by Portland.

The cabin and a garage with a beloved classic car that Kesselring had just restored were both reduced to charred rubble. Only the fireplace and chimney remained of the apartment.

“It breaks my heart. You work hard all your life and then you are hit by such a disaster,” he told Reuters.

Oregon’s poorly equipped firefighters were unused to the extent and size of the conflagrations and struggled for days to keep up with the flames before cooler, wetter, less windy weather settled in the area and reinforcements could arrive.

Another life lost in California

As of Thursday, officials in Oregon, Washington state and California said they were making steady strides in suppressing the fires. The joyous rains further brightened Oregon on Friday, although the fires rose the death toll to 35 in three states.

The U.S. Forest Service in California reported that a firefighter was killed Thursday in a fire that burned for nearly two weeks after being set by pyrotechnics at an outdoor gender reveal party east of Los Angeles.

Authorities have withheld identification of the fallen firefighter pending notification of family members, and details of the circumstances have not been released.

The death in the San Bernardino National Forest was the 26th fire-related death in California last month. These include two other firefighters – a forest service contractor who was killed in a lightning strike in the Mendocino National Forest and a private helicopter pilot whose helicopter crashed on a water drip mission in Fresno County last month.

Forest fires killed at least eight other people in Oregon and one in Washington state, all civilians.

In California alone, the flames have blackened a record 1.3 million hectares since mid-August. Another 650,000 hectares (1.7 million acres) have burned down in Oregon and Washington state since Labor Day.

Described by scientists and officials as unprecedented in scope and ferocity, the flames largely burned several small towns and thousands of homes.

“Beauty scar”

Thousands of evacuees, particularly in Oregon, remained huddled in shelters, mobile trailers, and hotel rooms. And Oregon emergency management officials have warned of the death toll that could rise if search teams search the ruins of houses that were on fire during the chaotic evacuations at the start of the disaster.

Justin Gaskill, 28, a U.S. Army veteran who ran a community watch organization that also organized food relief efforts, said residents were in the fire-ravaged town of Estacada, Oregon, where he was born and raised however, still in shock, decided to rebuild.

“I want to say that this event will leave our community with a beauty scar,” he said. “We were wounded, but there are so many beautiful opportunities to share and show our strength as a city.”

Thunderstorms brought sodden rain to the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains late Thursday and through Friday, helping a force of more than 6,000 firefighters advance against 10 large flames still burning in Oregon.

The heavy rains also triggered flood and landslide warnings in areas where the fire has stripped hills and vegetation canyons.

The cooler, more favorable weather in the area since last week has already dispelled some of the smoky, polluted air and softened the flames. So ground teams could go on the offensive with axes and bulldozers and use water-dropping helicopters and aircraft tankers at the same time.

Higher humidity also raised hopes of suppressing the flames in the greater San Francisco Bay area.

“Mild weather helps fight fires as crews gain ground in many major incidents,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday.

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