Smog blankets US West Coast as fire deaths keep climbing

In this photo made with a slow shutter speed, embers light up a hillside behind the Bidwell Bar Bridge as the Bear Fire burns in Oroville, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. /AP

Volunteer firefighters check remains of Fire Station 61 after it was destroyed by the Bear fire, part of the North Complex fires, in Berry Creek, California, Saturday. /EPA

U.S. President Donald Trump said he will meet emergency services in California on Monday as record fires have killed at least 31 people and smothered the West Coast in dense smog.

기록적인 산불이 최소 31명의 목숨을 앗아가고 미국 서부 해안 지역(웨스트코스트)이 짙은 스모그에 갇히자, 도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령은 월요일 캘리포니아의 긴급 구조대를 방문할 것임을 밝혔다.

Officials warned of further fatalities with swathes of land in California, Oregon and Washington still cut off by flames fueled by tinder-dry conditions, as presidential challenger Joe Biden linked the fires to climate change.

조 바이든 민주당 대선후보는 이번 화재의 원인으로 기후변화를 지목한 가운데, 트럼프 측 관계자들은 캘리포니아, 오리건, 워싱턴의 넓은 지역이 바싹 마른 대기로 여전히 불 속에 고립되어 더 많은 사상자가 나올 수 있다고 경고했다.

The unprecedented infernos have now burnt through nearly 5 million acres (2 million hectares), an area roughly the size of New Jersey.

이 유례없는 화재는 현재 뉴저지주 크기의 약 500만 에이커(2백만 헥타르)를 태워버렸다.

Trump plans to meet with the heads of California's emergency services, battling fires that have scorched more than 3.2 million acres in the state this year.

트럼프 대통령은 올해에만 캘리포니아주의 320만 에이커 이상을 태우고 있는 화재에 맞서 싸우는 캘리포니아 긴급구조대원들을 만날 계획이다.

He has made little comment about the blazes in recent weeks, but at a Nevada campaign event on Saturday he acknowledged the scope of the disaster.

트럼프는 최근 몇 주간 이번 화재에 대해 거의 언급하지 않았으나, 토요일 네바다주 유세에서 이번 참사의 규모를 인정했다.

"They never had anything like this," Trump said. "Please remember the words, very simple, forest management." But Biden, speaking earlier, said the causes were much broader: "The science is clear, and deadly signs like these are unmistakable ― climate change poses an imminent, existential threat to our way of life."

트럼프는 "이런 적이 없었다"라며 "산림 관리라는 아주 간단한 단어를 기억해달라"고 말했다. 그러나 바이든 후보는 이에 앞서 산불의 원인이 훨씬 더 광범위하다며 "과학은 분명하고, 이와 같은 치명적인 징후는 틀림없다. 기후 변화는 우리의 삶에 임박한, 실존적인 위협이다"라고 말했다.

Worsening the sense of environmental catastrophe, all five of the world's most air-polluted cities Saturday were on the U.S. West Coast with dense smog and ash coating the atmosphere from Los Angeles up to Vancouver in Canada.

토요일 세계에서 가장 대기가 오염된 5개 도시는 전부 짙은 스모그와 재가 대기를 덮은 로스앤젤레스에서 밴쿠버에 이르는 미국 서부 해안지역 도시들이었다.

This September 12, 2020, image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows smoke from Oregon and California wildfires moving west, south and east at 16H00UTC. - US officials girded Saturday for the possibility of mass fatalities from raging wildfires up and down the West Coast, as evacuees recounted the pain of leaving everything behind in the face of fast-moving flames. There were 16 deaths confirmed this week, with wide stretches of land still cut off by flames fueled by tinder-dry conditions of the kind caused by climate change. /AFP

In Portland, thick, choking smoke blanketed the downtown area Saturday morning.

오리건주 포틀랜드에서는 토요일 아침 숨막히는 짙은 연기가 시내를 뒤덮었다.

More than 20,000 firefighters are battling the blazes, with officials warning that a respite provided by the arrival of cooler weather could end Monday as warmer, drier conditions return.

찬 공기의 유입이 가져다준 잠깐의 한숨 돌리기가 월요일 끝나면 다시 건조한 날씨가 찾아온다고 당국 관계자들이 경고한 가운데, 2만명 이상의 소방관들이 화재 진압을 위해 싸우고 있다.

Oregon has suffered another four deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the state's death toll this week alone to 19. (AFP)

오리건주는 지난 24시간 동안 4명의 사망자가 추가로 발생해 이번 주에만 19명이 화재로 사망했다.

A search and rescue team, surrounded by red fire retardant, look for victims under burned residences and vehicles in the aftermath of the Almeda fire in Talent, Oregon, U.S., September 13, 2020. Picture taken with a drone. /REUTERS

In this aerial view from a drone, homes destroyed by wildfire are seen on September 12, 2020 in Talent, Oregon. Hundreds of homes in Talent and nearby towns have been lost due to wildfire. /AFP

In this aerial view from a drone, damaged homes are seen in a mobile home park that was destroyed by wildfire on September 11, 2020 in Ashland, Oregon. Hundreds of homes in Ashland and nearby towns have been lost due to wildfire. /AFP

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