AFTERMATH

Oregon Alone Has ‘At Least’ 79 Dead From Killer Heatwave

In Canada, a raging wildfire that’s nearly destroyed an entire town killed two people, who died before their son’s eyes.

Hundreds of people are believed to have died in the catastrophic heatwave that swept the Pacific Northwest and Canada, including 79 residents in Oregon alone. Many of the dead have been found alone in the homes without air conditioning, after temperatures in some areas hit a stunning 115 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 20 people died in Washington state, a number that officials expect to rise in the coming days. Meanwhile, in Canada, there were 486 “sudden and unexpected deaths” in British Columbia from Friday to Wednesday, a far higher number than the 165 people who typically die there over that same period. Amid the extreme weather, nearly the entire village of Lytton, British Columbia, went up in flames. Resident Jeff Chapman watched his parents die before his own eyes as the blaze engulfed them as they took shelter in a pit outside their home. “They went down in there, and I pulled some plywood over,” Chapman told the Vancouver Sun. “It was really only enough room for them. It was so hot, I didn’t know what to do, I just f–king ran... Now I feel like it’s my fault.”