00:00Oregon is sounding the alarm, and this time, authorities say the threat is worse than anything they have seen in
00:06years.
00:06Governor Tina Kotek just signed a proclamation declaring May 2026 as Wildfire Awareness Month and issued a direct warning.
00:15Nine Oregon counties are already under emergency declarations, and fire season has barely begun.
00:21The cause is a convergence of record-setting low snowpack, historic drought,
00:25and a developing El Nino that fire experts say will drive above-normal temperatures and lightning storms deep into October.
00:33The Riverview fire near Lapine, Oregon, was the first major wildfire of 2026, and it broke out in March, months
00:41ahead of schedule.
00:43No AA forecasts above-normal temperatures and below-average precipitation through October.
00:48However, risk of significant fires is expected above normal east of the Cascades by June, and spreading to southwestern Oregon
00:55by July.
00:57AccuWeather warns that up to 8 million acres could burn across the U.S. in 2026,
01:02a figure that would match the most destructive seasons on record.
01:06For millions of Americans in the West, the dangerous weeks have already begun.
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