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In Oregon, 500,000 Forced to Flee Wildfires

VOA News

   More than 500,000 people in Oregon -- more than 1 in 10 Oregonians --
   have been forced to evacuate their homes and towns because of one of
   the 100 major wildfires burning across the state, the Oregon Office of
   Emergency Management said.

   In the U.S. West Coast state of Oregon, wildfires have left at least
   four people dead in the past 48 hours, destroyed thousands of homes and
   burned 365,000 hectares. Several towns were destroyed in Oregon and one
   in Washington state.

   Police have opened an arson investigation into the Almeda Fire, which
   started in Ashland, Oregon, near the state line with California, said
   Ashland Police Chief Tighe O'Meara. The fire raced north and destroyed
   an estimated 600 homes in the towns just north of Ashland.

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