Notes from Oregon:
-I've read two different death tolls so somewhere between 9 and 10 for certain. There have been concerns that these numbers might really rise because dozens of people were missing; however, I've just read that only one person remains unaccounted for in Talent & Phoenix now, which was one of the major areas of concern. Hopefully, numbers will not rise as much as officials feared.
-More regular west wind patterns have spread the smoke throughout the whole state. Everywhere is essentially at Unhealthy or Hazardous. The smoke has made it impossible for firefighters to use air support on some of the biggest fires.
-The good news is that the west wind is helping to hold the biggest fires in place, as it is pushing the fire back east in the direction it has already burned. This is important, for example, in Clackamas County as it is a major urban county and lots of people live west of the huge fires burning in that area.
-The towns of Molalla & Estacada are still very close to the big fires there.
-Most other communities in Clackamas County have had their evacuation levels downgraded, from either level 2 to 1 or from level 1 to being take off the list.
-The big fires there, however, remain 0% contained.
-A number of other fires in the state are beginning to be contained. (The Almeda fire in southern Oregon is 60% contained now. On a number of others, firefighters are just beginning to make headway. Several fires are now listed at 5% containment.
-There are at least 16 fires burning in the state.
-There is currently a 50% chance of rain in the Willamette Valley on Tuesday night and/or Wednesday. Hoping it will really come and clear the air enough for firefighters to hit the big wildfires with air support. And make a difference on other fires as well.
. All of the 9,000 people in Molalla are at level 3 (Go!) and evacuating now. Oregon City is at level 2 (Get Set). My cousin & his family are at level 1.
