Hundreds of thousands of acres destroyed.
More than 90 major fires have blackened more than 5,300 square miles — almost the size of Connecticut — in 12 western states. Heavy winds fuel fast-growing wildfires, and evacuations have been called as firefighters battle to protect lives, homes, and businesses.
Fires are burning from San Diego in the South all the way into Northern California, parts of Oregon and Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona.
An orange glow instead of sunlight permeates many of the skies in the west, as the region continues to also be plagued by high heat and parched terrain.
The California National Guard and U.S. Navy pilots have made countless trips into wilderness areas, airlifting dozens of people back each time from the path of the fires.
In California, the power company has cut electricity to 170,000 customers in a safety shutdown. In Oregon, thousands are evacuating several areas, and in Washington, Governor Inslee tweeted that 30,000 acres burned in his state in a single day.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the safety of firefighters, first responders, and others who are engaging the fires and the rescue of people from harm’s way.
- For people in fire-threatened areas to heed the calls to evacuate, keeping loss of life to a minimum.
- For those facing financial tolls from the loss of property, businesses, farmlands, and wilderness areas.
- That God would bring rain to the parched areas of the west, and cool temperatures for those battling the fires.
Sources: Axios, USA Today, National Interagency Fire Center
