'I have never seen anything like this': Oregon towns emptied and confusion spreads amid fires

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon were ordered to leave their homes on Thursday as wildfires encroached on their properties. The evacuations clogged highways, emptied entire towns and sparked confusion in a state that has not grappled with wildfires of this size before.

Large-scale evacuations in the state began within the metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon’s largest city. Clackamas county, home to some 420,000 people in the metro’s south, was already under varying levels of fire alert when officials on Thursday afternoon told residents of the city of Molalla to leave.

From early afternoon, bumper-to-bumper traffic streamed north on state route 213 from Molalla towards Oregon City. The highway’s northbound lanes were clogged with RVs, trailers, trucks and smaller vehicles carrying tool boxes, luggage, trail bikes and horses.

The caravan was just one part of a half-million strong evacuation in a state confronted by the worst fire conditions in recent history, and, according to the governor, Kate Brown, the possibility of the worst fatalities and property damage on record.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i-have-never-seen-anything-like-this-oregon-towns-emptied-and-confusion-spreads-amid-fires/ar-BB18WskB?li=BBnb7Kz

[MissB]

1. And the ones that aren't required to evacuate are pretty much chewing the air

Portland’s air quality is worse than most anywhere else on earth right now. Except maybe Salem or Eugene.

But at least we aren’t all evacuating yet.

The media tried to get out the word from various metro area governments to just not travel yesterday afternoon so the folks that needed to evacuate could.

[ihas2stinkyfeet]

2. armageddon.

[Grasswire2]

3. The zone two is about ten miles from me now. Hoping for rain showers tomorrow.

I live on the bank of a major river, in the suburbs. The wooded island park just off shore (within hollering distance from me) caught fire Wednesday night. My daughter was the first to see it, and I called it in to the FD.

It quickly became a fire requiring five different Fire Departments, three fireboats, and three hours to get it under control.

Because the wind was blowing AWAY from us, I was able to sit in a lawn chair and watch huge fir trees consumed. About 1/5 of the island burned.

Houses on both sides of the river, and huge retirement homes on a bluff nearby, with woods in between. It could have caused many deaths if it got away from the fire fighters.

Picture at link.

[link:https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ehhp5xCXYAAa-d6?format=jpg&name=small|

[fleur-de-lisa]

4. Where are they supposed to go?

It seems like most of the west is on fire.

Reminds me of when a really large hurricane is approaching and you would have to drive 8 hours to get out of its path. Then you may not be able to find lodging because so many people evacuated. If you don’t have friends you can stay with, you’re screwed.

These fires are frightening. I can’t even imagine.