The vast majority of Oregon was wrapped in a haze of smoke on the 4th September, with dozens of wildfires attacking the state to the point that ones specific fire forced part of an interstate highway to be closed.
The Willamette National Forest alone currently has 16 fires, covering 71 square miles (184 square kilometres) burning, while campfires have subsequently been banned while a third of the forest is off limits to the general public.
Meanwhile, evacuations were ordered in a rural area near Cave Junction, southwest Oregon, due to another blaze. At time of writing, the magnitude and size of this fire remains unknown as heavy smoke has ensured that the infrared mapping flights don’t work.
However, the smoke is also filtering sunlight, which is limiting any additional heating of potential fuels on the ground, which in turn is actually stifling smaller fires.
Doctors have recommended that anyone with any existing pulmonary conditions – for example, asthma – should stay indoors, while air quality alerts have also been issued for various parts of the state.
Towards the northern end of the state, one fire in particular has wreaked havoc, with a blaze near the Columbia River Gorge – which separates Oregon from the state of Washington – causing ashes to drift over into the town of Cascade Locks.
As well as this, a stretch of Interstate 84 which runs by the town has been closed due to the blaze, and the highway will only reopen once the authorities have deemed that the road is safe.
Evacuation orders remain in place in and around Cascade Locks for a whopping 283 structures, which include 15 businesses. The fire started on the 2nd September, allegedly from a youngster playing with fireworks, and quickly spread to the point it’s holding its position at an estimated 3200 acres (1295 hectares).
