Deadly wildfires rage across the US West Coast

A law enforcement officer watches flames launch into the air as fire continues to spread at the Bear fire in Oroville, California on September 9.

Millions of acres in the western United States continue to burn as a result of nearly 90 large wildfires. 

There are 87 active large fires that have burned more than 4.6 million acres in 10 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).

California has the most fires with at least 25, the NIFC said. 

Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee strongly criticized President Trump on Monday in an open letter after the President’s visit to the West Coast to discuss wildfires ravaging multiple states. 

“Your refusal to address climate change — and your active steps to enable even more carbon pollution — will accelerate devastating wildfires like those you’re seeing today,” Inslee wrote in a Medium post.

Trump was part of a meeting earlier in the day, and dismissed a mention of hotter temperatures playing a key role in the wildfires. “It’ll start getting cooler,” Trump told state officials. “You just watch.”

“That is false,” Inslee responded in the open letter. “This abandonment of leadership has once again left the states on their own to fight this existential threat to our people.” 

Nearly two dozen people are unaccounted for in Oregon’s devastating wildfires. 

“If you’re concerned for missing family, please report that concern to the local law enforcement entity,” Phelps added. 

He also encouraged people who are evacuating to register with the American Red Cross so that officials and loved ones will know that they are safe.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper talks to a family who escaped a wildfire in Oregon on today’s Full Circle, which starts at 6 p.m. ET.

Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler, and their 6-year-old daughter Lilly were camping at Detroit Lake State Park in Oregon last Tuesday when they received evacuation orders stemming from the Beachie Creek Fire. As they fled the fire, their vehicle ran out of gas.

Cooper will also talk to CNN’s Kyung Lah about California’s devastating wildfires.

Watch the full episode of Anderson Cooper Full Circle:

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown speaks during a wildfire press conference on Monday in Salem, Oregon.

Ten people have died in the state of Oregon as a result of wildfires, according to Gov. Kate Brown.

The deaths were confirmed by the state medical examiner, the governor said.

Brown said they are also asking for federal assistance to deal with the fires.

“I sent a letter to the President asking that he declare a major disaster in the state of Oregon,” she said in a news conference.

The United States Postal Service has temporarily closed some post offices in California, Oregon and Washington because of the wildfires along the US West Coast.

USPS made the announcement on Twitter.

The announcement comes as some states begin the process of sending out mail-in ballots ahead of the November election. Election officials are bracing for historic levels of voting by mail as the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the country.

The National Women’s Soccer League match between Portland Thorns FC and OL Reign scheduled for tomorrow night has been postponed until Sept. 30. 

The decision was made following concerns about air quality in Portland, caused by wildfires in Oregon.

The San Francisco Bay Bridge is seen along Harrison Street under an orange smoke-filled sky in San Francisco on September 9.

Three major US cities now have the worst air quality of any big cities in the world thanks to the smoke from massive wildfires, according to a monitoring group.

Portland, Seattle and San Francisco have the worst air quality of any major cities around the world, according to IQAir, a group which tracks global air quality. But things are even worse outside of the big cities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s own air quality index trackers.

Large swathes of Oregon, Washington state and even parts of British Columbia in Canada, are experiencing “hazardous” air quality. The EPA says the air quality in Salem, Oregon’s capital, is so bad that people need to stay indoors and reduce activity levels.

President Donald Trump speaks to the press on the tarmac as he arrives in McClellan Park, California, on Monday.

Ahead of his meeting to discuss the ongoing forest fires in California, President Trump declined to say that climate change is playing a role in the destructive wildfires taking place across the west coast. 

Trump was asked on the airport tarmac on Monday what role climate change was playing in the fires, answering, “Well I think this is more of a management situation. If you look at other countries, if you go to other countries in Europe, Austria, Finland and numerous countries, I talk to the heads. They’re forest nations. They’re in forests and they don’t have problems like this. They have very explosive trees, but they don’t have problems like this.”

The President also suggested that other nations need to take responsibility for their levels of pollution more than the US, because the US is “just a small speck.”

“When you get into climate change, well, is India gonna change its ways? And is China gonna change its ways? And Russia? Is Russia gonna change its ways? So, you have a lot of countries that are going to have to change, because they make up, we’re just a small speck. They make up a big preponderance of the pollution and so you have to get them to do it. And nobody ever talks about that,” Trump said.

When asked if California has a climate change issue, Trump said he didn’t want to step on the toes of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom declared Friday that the debate over climate change is over, saying, “We are in the midst of a climate emergency. We are in the midst of a climate crisis. We are experiencing weather conditions the likes of which we’ve never experienced in our lifetime.”

Democratic presidential nominee speaks about climate change and wildfires affecting western states on Monday in Wilmington, Delaware.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said today that the country’s “inaction on climate change” is fueling disasters like the wildfires in west.

“With every bout with nature’s fury caused by our own inaction on climate change, more Americans see and feel the devastation. Whether they’re in a big city, small towns, on coastlines or on farmlands. It is happening everywhere and happening now. And it affects us all,” Biden said while speaking at a campaign appearance in Wilmington, Delaware.

Watch more:

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is speaking about the Western wildfires that scientists and officials say have been intensified by the climate crisis.

“Fires are blazing so brightly — smoke racing so far, NASA satellites can see them 1 million miles away in space,” Biden said while speaking in Wilmington, Delaware.

But he added that the effects of these disasters are reality for Americans on the ground.

“Loved ones lost, along with the photos, the keepsakes, all the memories,” Biden said, while describing the aftermath of the wildfires. “Spouses and kids praying each night for their firefighter husband, father, wife and mother — will they come home? Entire communities destroyed. We have to act as a nation.”

He continued:

WATCH:

Desiree Pierce cries as she visits her home destroyed by the Almeda Fire on Friday, September 11, in Talent, Oregon. "I just needed to see it, to get some closure," said Pierce.

Wildfires are burning all along the US West Coast.

While parts of California — where weather conditions are not expected to improve any time soon as high winds of up to 40 mph are forecast in the coming days — have seen some of the worst fire conditions, parts of Oregon and Washington are burning, too.

Here’s what you need to know about the fires in the Pacific Northwest:

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One in Las Vegas on Monday to travel to Sacramento for a briefing on wildfires.

President Trump is aboard Air Force One and will be wheels up for California momentarily.

Once there, Trump is expected to attend a wildfire briefing. The President is expected to meet with California Gov. Gavin Newsom at the briefing, according to White House spokesperson Judd Deere. The event is closed to press at this time, per daily guidance.

Afterward, Trump is scheduled to deliver public remarks recognizing California’s National Guard.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC on Monday she has not spoken directly with President Trump about relief for her home state of California as it is ravaged by wildfires, although she said the governors of western states have been in contact with Congress about the unfolding situation.

She did note that she did not have any complaints about federal efforts to assist in California.

Pelosi said when she left the state last weekend the air was “unhealthy and terrible,” adding that there are both “short-term” and “long-term” issues that must be addressed — including the environmental threat of the climate crisis.

The California Democrat said she recently had a virtual meeting on the climate crisis with G7 and European Union leaders in which the world leaders agreed climate change is “a fact that has to be dealt with,” quipping “why the President ignores that, I don’t know.”

“When the President says all they have to do is rake the leaves and ignore the climate challenge that we face, it’s really quite sad,” Pelosi said, referencing to Trump’s insistence that poor “forest management” is to blame for the devastating fires.

The Bobcat Fire burns near homes in Arcadia, California, on September 13.

Firefighters in California have been battling multiple fires throughout the state for nearly a month as hot, dry weather has fueled flames and created tinderbox conditions in some areas.

More than 16,750 firefighters were battling 29 major wildfires across the state as of Sunday, according to CalFire.

Deadly fires have burned an astonishing 3.3 million acres in the state in 2020, creating smoky conditions and weather concerns that have resulted in partial power shutoffs for thousands of California residents in an effort to prevent additional fires.

What’s behind the fires? Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have attributed the intensity of this seasons fires to climate change, pushing back on President Donald Trump’s assertion that the fires were due to poor land management.

The White House on Saturday announced President Trump will visit California, hours after Trump thanked the firefighters and first responders battling the historic wildfires raging in the western part of the United States.

Trump’s public acknowledgment of the crisis comes after weeks of remaining largely silent on the fires that have killed over two dozen people and burned millions of acres.

Trump will visit McClellan Park, California, on Monday for a briefing with local and federal fire and emergency officials on the state’s wildfires, the White House said Saturday.

Over the past few weeks, Trump hasn’t tweeted about the devastating wildfires, despite regularly posting to his Twitter feed. His relative silence adds to his history of offering little empathy in the face of natural disasters, and tendency to attack Democratic leaders for their handling of crises

But on Friday, he posted to Twitter: “THANK YOU to the 28,000+ Firefighters and other First Responders who are battling wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington.”

The President also said he approved funds to “support their brave work” and added, “We are with them all the way!”

Trump mentioned the wildfires over an hour into his speech at a rally Saturday night in Minden, Nevada.

“Our hearts are with all of the communities in the West battling devastating wildfires,” Trump told his supporters, adding that “my administration is closely coordinating with state and local leaders.”

Trump repeatedly said the fires are about “forest management,” a characterization he has repeatedly offered of such blazes that has been previously criticized as inaccurate.

“It is about forest management, please remember the words, very simply, forest management, please remember, about forest management, and other things,” he said, also thanking the firefighters and first responders who are reacting to the fires.

A firefighter in Jamul, California, battles the Valley Fire along Japatul Road on September 6.

It’s a devastating and historic fire season in the West — and scientists and local officials say the climate crisis is to blame.

In California, three of the five largest wildfires in state history are currently burning, officials say. 

Oregon’s governor said in a typical year, fires consume about 500,000 acres in the state — but “this week alone, we burned over a million acres of beautiful Oregon,” she said.

And last week in Washington, more acres were burned in the state on a single day than were charred in the past 12 fire seasons, Gov. Jay Inslee said.

Here’s a look at what we know about climate change and the unprecedented wildfires:

Smoke fills the sky in Portland, Oregon, on September 10.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said climate change and mismanagement of the nation’s forests are both to blame for the fires raging in her state and across the West Coast, during an interview on CBS Face the Nation. 

Brown was responded to questions about a former Oregon lawmaker’s op-ed in the Washington Post, which alleges the state mismanaged forests and ignored warnings. 

According to Brown, Oregon usually has about 500,000 acres burned in fires annually.

“This week alone, we burned over a million acres of beautiful Oregon,” said Brown.

This year, “we saw the perfect fire storm, we saw incredible winds, we saw very cold, hot temperatures and of course we have a landscape that has seen 30 years of drought,” Brown said. “This is truly the bellwether for climate change on the West Coast,” according to Brown.

What other leaders are saying: Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have also attributed the intensity of this season’s fires to climate change. Meanwhile, President Trump at a weekend rally repeatedly said the fires are about “forest management,” a characterization he has repeatedly offered of such blazes that has been previously criticized as inaccurate.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the media outside of Oroville, California, after viewing the North Complex Fire zone on September 11.

Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti have attributed the intensity of this season’s fires to climate change, pushing back on President Trump’s assertion that the fires were due to poor land management.

Record breaking temperatures and a lack of rain have only exacerbated conditions in a state that has seen dozens of deaths.

What Trump said: The President mentioned the wildfires over an hour into his speech at a rally Saturday night in Minden, Nevada.

Trump repeatedly said the fires are about “forest management,” a characterization he has repeatedly offered of such blazes that has been previously criticized as inaccurate.