PORTLAND (US) – Crews were prepared to start search for the dead again on Sunday amid ruins left by raging wildfires in three western US states.
Wildfires across Oregon, California and Washington have demolished thousands of homes and small towns, killing at least 26 people since early August.
The director of Oregon’s office of emergency management, Andrew Phelps, said, “There are going to be a number of fatalities, folks that just couldn’t get warning in time and couldn’t evacuate their homes and get to safety.”
At least six people have lost their lives this week in Oregon, according to state officials. Brown has said that a lot of people were still missing across three counties.
The Bureau of Land Management said on Twitter that 27 fires were still fuming across 1.47 million acres in Oregon and Washington on Saturday.
In California, firefighters were fighting 28 major wildfires as of Saturday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Facebook said on Saturday that false claims that the wildfires in Oregon were triggered by certain groups by them.
A Facebook spokesman said, “This is based on confirmation from law enforcement that these rumors are forcing local fire and police agencies to divert resources from fighting the fires and protecting the public.”