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Firefighters Continue Battling Wildfires in Oregon, Other Western US States

VOA News

   Fire crews across three western U.S. states continue to battle deadly
   wildfires that have produced a smoky haze that has drifted thousands of
   kilometers across the country into New York City and Washington, D.C.,
   and even across the world into Europe and Mexico.

   The infernos, brought on by several weeks of record heat and dry wind,
   have destroyed about 1.8 million hectares of land across Oregon,
   Washington state and California. A combined 35 people have been
   confirmed dead in the wildfires in the three states.

   Air quality across Oregon has been characterized by state environmental
   officials as "hazardous" or "very unhealthy." Visibility has been less
   than a half-kilometer in some places, according to the National Weather
   Service, making it dangerous to drive.

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