Ron Brackett and Jan Wesner Childs
A mobile morgue was set up Monday in Oregon to handle those killed by the historic wildfires burning in the state.
It's the first time such a step has ever been taken in Oregon, according to the Oregonian.
The morgue is in Linn County, in a region of the state where the most devastating fires are burning. Officials also plan to open a center this week where families of the dead and missing can be DNA tested to aid in the identification of bodies.
At least 10 people have died due to the fires in Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown said in Monday news conference. Andrew Phelps, director of Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management, said 22 people remain missing. The number has dropped in recent days as people who fled the fires have been located.
A 75-member response team has been activated to help search for bodies and operate the mobile morgue. The team includes death investigators, first responders and forensic scientists, Cathy Phelps, who is overseeing the operation, told the Oregonian.
"We have set up a small city here," Phelps said.
The identification process includes fingerprinting, dental and X-ray stations, as well as forensic examinations.
At least 13 large wildfires were burning Monday in Oregon, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. More than two dozen were active in California and 15 in Washington.
The blazes are straining resources and choking communities in dense smoke. Tens of thousands of people still remain unable to return home, and many of them have no homes to return to.
Oregon
Officials in Oregon were searching for a person suspected of setting several fires early Monday morning in Linn County, about 60 miles north of where one of the state's largest and most destructive fires is burning in the Santiam Valley.
The fires in Oregon have consumed more than 1,560 square miles — or 1 million acres. That is about twice the yearly average over the past 10 years, according to the Oregonian.
More than 40,000 Oregonians have been forced to flee their homes. Another half-million people had been in different levels of evacuation zones, Brown said. Some of those levels were reduced on Saturday.
The state's fire marshal, Jim Walker, resigned on Saturday after being placed on administrative leave.
Thick smoke from the fires and those to the south in California have led to dangerous air quality in many parts of Oregon. Residents were warned to stay indoors over the weekend.
The Oregon Health Authority said Monday that 10% of recent emergency room visits statewide are due to asthmalike symptoms, KATU.com reported.
California
Smoke was visible from Air Force One Monday as President Donald Trump flew into Northern California for a briefing on the unrelenting wildfires burning across the state.
The president's visit came as the death toll continued to rise.
The California fires have killed at least two dozen people since mid-August.
The Mill Creek Hotshots set a backfire to protect homes during the Bobcat Fire on Sept. 13, 2020, in Arcadia, California.Most of the victims have died in the past week, including 14 in Butte County, where one of the deadliest fires in state history is burning. The county is also home to Paradise, where more than 80 people were killed in the devastating Camp Fire two years ago.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said during a news conference Sunday that seven people remained missing, according to the Associated Press.
Because of the Castle Fire, the National Park Service announced that Sequoia National Park will fully close Tuesday at 6 a.m. All entrances to the park were closed Monday in preparation for the park closure.
Also on Monday, dangerously unhealthy air quality continued for many communities in the three states.
Dan Borsum, an incident meteorologist working with the California fires, said air quality in the region might not improve until October, the AP reported.
Nearly 16,500 firefighters are battling wildfires statewide, according to a Monday update from Cal Fire. At least 5,000 square miles of land have been scorched and more than 4,200 structures destroyed.
More than 60,000 people have been forced to evacuate, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A true death toll may not be known for days, officials said.
"There are still some areas that they are looking into but they have not been able to get into due to the fire activity that’s going on," said Capt. Bruno Baertschi, public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The deadly North Complex Fire in Butte and Plumas counties has left at least 132 residences and 36 commercial structures in smoldering ruins.
Gusty winds and low humidity could make fighting the fire more difficult, the National Weather Service said.
Washington
The weather gave firefighters in Washington a bit of a break over the weekend as the growth of wildfires in the state slowed on Saturday.
Air quality remains unhealthy in many areas, however.
At least one person has been killed in Washington's fires.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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