Regional firefighters arrive in the west to battle wildfires

In Washington State, the Pearl Hall fire has burned 223,700 acres, the Evans Camp fire has charred 75,000 acres and Big Hollow is at 23,000.

In addition, employers should be mindful of employees living in areas that have been directed to evacuate, and allow them to stay home to help their families with those preparations. "After watching that fire I don't think you can do enough. This is apocalyptic", Merkley told CNN.

Merkley said a lot of affordable housing was lost, including apartment buildings and mobile home parks, while some commercial districts were burned to the ground.

Canada is sending almost 300 firefighters and technical specialists to help beat back the flames ravaging OR, one of three states where wildfires are razing buildings, claiming lives and chasing residents from their homes along the U.S. West Coast.

The air quality in this region is now the worst in the world, topping the most polluted cities globally.

CT health risks from wildfire smoke are already higher than in many parts of the USA simply because our air pollution is worse.

Several miles (km) inland, air in the OR cities of Portland, Salem and Bend still registered as "hazardous" today, according to a state air quality tracking site. But Solum said there's always a chance for more smoke and haze to shift around.

We've made some efforts to reduce fire risk through thinning and prescribed fire, but the pace and scale has been inadequate. "It hasn't been super windy or super hot", Sullivan said.

More than 30 people have died in wildfires in the past two months, hundreds of homes have been destroyed and thousands of people remain in evacuation shelters.

Idyllwild-Pine Cove California. Source Levan Badzgaradze Unsplash

Oregon's rate of uninsured residents has hovered around 6% in recent years since declining from 15% in 2011, before the Affordable Care Act banned discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and expanded Medicaid eligibility.

OR is unaccustomed to the size and number of blazes that it has been experiencing, which have gained ground due to drought conditions and high winds.

The August Complex Fire in Mendocino County, the state's largest-ever, continued growing Wednesday.

The fires have spread as far as Washington State, which is separated from California by OR - which is also experiencing the full force of the blaze.

Eight deaths have been confirmed in Oregon.

And it's hit historically hazardous levels in cities across California and OR, where hospitals have reported a 10% increase in emergency room visits for breathing problems and doctors are being inundated with calls from anxious patients. Existing interstate and global agreements for sharing fire suppression resources are reportedly maxed out.

Thousands of miles away from the fires, which originated in California and have spread along the USA west coast, people are being exposed to some of the fires' effects, which includes carbon monoxide and smog, emerging research is showing.

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