By Mike Hayes and Meg Wagner, CNN
From CNN’s Joe Sutton
Millions of acres in the western United States continue to burn as a result of nearly 90 large wildfires.
There are 87 active large fires that have burned more than 4.6 million acres in 10 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
California has the most fires with at least 25, the NIFC said.
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee strongly criticized President Trump on Monday in an open letter after the President’s visit to the West Coast to discuss wildfires ravaging multiple states.
“Your refusal to address climate change — and your active steps to enable even more carbon pollution — will accelerate devastating wildfires like those you’re seeing today,” Inslee wrote in a Medium post.
Trump was part of a meeting earlier in the day, and dismissed a mention of hotter temperatures playing a key role in the wildfires. “It’ll start getting cooler,” Trump told state officials. “You just watch.”
“That is false,” Inslee responded in the open letter. “This abandonment of leadership has once again left the states on their own to fight this existential threat to our people.”
“Climate change is doing more damage to our communities faster than anyone thought,” Inslee added.
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Nearly two dozen people are unaccounted for in Oregon’s devastating wildfires.
“As of today, there have been 22 individuals reported missing associated with these fires,” Emergency Management Director Andrew Phelps said Monday.
“If you’re concerned for missing family, please report that concern to the local law enforcement entity,” Phelps added.
He also encouraged people who are evacuating to register with the American Red Cross so that officials and loved ones will know that they are safe.
CNN's Anderson Cooper talks to a family who escaped a wildfire in Oregon on today's Full Circle, which starts at 6 p.m. ET.
Allison Hargett, her husband Tyler, and their 6-year-old daughter Lilly were camping at Detroit Lake State Park in Oregon last Tuesday when they received evacuation orders stemming from the Beachie Creek Fire. As they fled the fire, their vehicle ran out of gas.
Cooper will also talk to CNN's Kyung Lah about California's devastating wildfires.
Watch the full episode of Anderson Cooper Full Circle:
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Ten people have died in the state of Oregon as a result of wildfires, according to Gov. Kate Brown.
The deaths were confirmed by the state medical examiner, the governor said.
Brown said they are also asking for federal assistance to deal with the fires.
“I sent a letter to the President asking that he declare a major disaster in the state of Oregon,” she said in a news conference.
The United States Postal Service has temporarily closed some post offices in California, Oregon and Washington because of the wildfires along the US West Coast.
USPS made the announcement on Twitter.
The announcement comes as some states begin the process of sending out mail-in ballots ahead of the November election. Election officials are bracing for historic levels of voting by mail as the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the country.
From CNN's Kevin Dotson
The National Women’s Soccer League match between Portland Thorns FC and OL Reign scheduled for tomorrow night has been postponed until Sept. 30.
The decision was made following concerns about air quality in Portland, caused by wildfires in Oregon.
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
Three major US cities now have the worst air quality of any big cities in the world thanks to the smoke from massive wildfires, according to a monitoring group.
Portland, Seattle and San Francisco have the worst air quality of any major cities around the world, according to IQAir, a group which tracks global air quality. But things are even worse outside of the big cities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's own air quality index trackers.
Large swathes of Oregon, Washington state and even parts of British Columbia in Canada, are experiencing "hazardous" air quality. The EPA says the air quality in Salem, Oregon's capital, is so bad that people need to stay indoors and reduce activity levels.
From CNN's Maegan Vazquez
Ahead of his meeting to discuss the ongoing forest fires in California, President Trump declined to say that climate change is playing a role in the destructive wildfires taking place across the west coast.
Trump was asked on the airport tarmac on Monday what role climate change was playing in the fires, answering, “Well I think this is more of a management situation. If you look at other countries, if you go to other countries in Europe, Austria, Finland and numerous countries, I talk to the heads. They’re forest nations. They’re in forests and they don’t have problems like this. They have very explosive trees, but they don’t have problems like this.”
The President also suggested that other nations need to take responsibility for their levels of pollution more than the US, because the US is “just a small speck.”
“When you get into climate change, well, is India gonna change its ways? And is China gonna change its ways? And Russia? Is Russia gonna change its ways? So, you have a lot of countries that are going to have to change, because they make up, we’re just a small speck. They make up a big preponderance of the pollution and so you have to get them to do it. And nobody ever talks about that,” Trump said.
When asked if California has a climate change issue, Trump said he didn’t want to step on the toes of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom declared Friday that the debate over climate change is over, saying, "We are in the midst of a climate emergency. We are in the midst of a climate crisis. We are experiencing weather conditions the likes of which we've never experienced in our lifetime."
