US / wildfires 10% of Oregon's Population Has Evacuated That's more than half a million people By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted Sep 11, 2020 12:22 AM CDT Copied This photo taken by Talent, Ore., resident Kevin Jantzer shows the destruction of his hometown as wildfires ravaged the central Oregon town near Medford late Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020. (Kevin Jantzer via AP) As Oregon continues to burn, more than 10% of the population—over half a million people—has been forced to evacuate. Wildfires have burned more than 1,400 square miles in the state of 4.2 million this week, the AP reports. The rest of the US Pacific Coast is also on fire, with wildfires burning 937 square miles in Washington state this week (and killing a 1-year-old). And in California, 4,844 square miles have been scorched this year so far, and 29 major wildfires are still burning. One, in the northern part of the state, has killed at least 10 so far. (In California, surreal orange skies brought with them dire warnings on Thursday.) Report an error