Wildfires in the United States have complete villages destroyed in the states of Oregon and California. The fire in the west of America has killed at least 31 people, many are still missing. We spoke with two eyewitnesses with Dutch roots.
In Oregon, 500,000 people were ordered to evacuate or prepare for evacuation, about 10 percent of the state’s population. The Dutch Leon, who grew up in Venlo and has lived in Oregon for 17 years, also had to leave in a hurry. “It was a shock. You take important things and things that are quickly stolen here, such as firearms. And you think: should I bring my winter coat? After all, you don’t know how long it will take.”
Ready, set, go
And Leon still doesn’t know that. On Monday, he, like all 2500 inhabitants of his village Estacada, received a message from the government. Alarm phase ‘ready’, that is, you must prepare for evacuation. Phase two, ‘set’, was skipped and on Wednesday the advice was: ‘go’. “I am lucky to have a large horse trailer in which I can sleep too. I brought my horses and dogs and went for a ride. Now I’m camping on a piece of land an hour away in Washington State. ”
He has been given photos showing that his house is still standing. “Fortunately. But when I can go home again? No idea.”
Wildfires are not an unknown phenomenon in the western US. But never before had he really had to leave home and hearth behind. “2020 is a difficult year anyway, my wife passed away a month ago. I took her ashes with me,” says Leon with emotion. He smells the forest fires: “This morning there was dew on the trailer for the first time, that’s a good sign. It will be less dry then.”
More extreme
In recent years it has become increasingly drier and more extreme. As well as the opinions on the cause of the fires, Leon says. “There are two camps: one camp claims that it is because of climate change, the other camp says that we are not maintaining the forests well. Both camps are shouting at each other and there is a lot of misinformation. Of course it is always easier to put the blame on another. to lay.”
Leon does not want to move. “Of course I don’t know how I feel when I get back home. But like everyone else here, I have to accept that you can’t control everything. That’s anchored in the people here.”
The fierce forest fires in the western US can be seen in aerial and satellite images:
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