Oregon Wildfires Unprecedented, Thousands Evacuate

We're used to hearing about wildfires in Eastern and Southern Oregon, but Western?

According to sources, including Oregon Public Broadcasting, even parts of Western Oregon are seeing massive fires.

Areas around Ashland in Southwest Oregon are seeing evacuations. It's near Medford, west of Klamath Falls.  Three prisons have evacuated some 1,450 inmates due to fire concerns, near Salem due to fire concerns.

Marion County, south of Portland, and Clackamas County, right next to Portland, also have declared states of emergency due to fires.

Also, a 40 mile stretch of State Highway 22 in the Central Cascade Mountains is under a Level 3 go now, or Level 2 be ready evacuation warning. There's a complete ban on any fire or cooking in the Crater Lake National Monument park, and Mt Hood National Forest is closed to all recreating and activity.

In Douglas County in Southern Oregon, east or Roseburg, Level 3 evacuations are taking place.

And if that's not enough, three fires are burning in the area of Lincoln City, near the Oregon Coast.

Officials say a rare mix of cold fronts, excessive winds, and near record dry weather conditions are creating a firestorm mix that they have no context to compare to.

At least 11 people are known statewide to have required some sort of burn treatment in the last three days, most of them sustaining injuries while fleeing fast moving blazes. 3 of them were considered serious enough for hospitalization.