West Coast wildfires affect families of OC students

Wildfires have spread throughout the West Coast and have affected some Oklahoma Christian University students and their families. 

Many out-of-state students at Oklahoma Christian are from Oregon and Washington state. Oregon has seen numerous homes destroyed and many evacuations. Most of these wildfires started in California.

Washington and Oregon are experiencing winds up to 50 mph. At least 33 fatalities from the fires have been confirmed. There have been hundreds of homes lost to the fires.

Senior Paris Hicks said the wildfires have affected her family in Mulino, Oregon.

“The wildfires have affected my town greatly,” Hicks said. “My family was evacuated in what was considered stage three severity and at great risk. The smoke and ash in the air were intense and several houses within a mile of my house were destroyed by the fires.”

Hicks said the fires have caused damage in her family’s life.

“The entire lumber mill where my dad works part-time and from whom my family receives a great source of income was also completely destroyed because of the fires. My family was evacuated from our home for a little over a week.”

According to Hicks, the environment has been significantly affected.

“My little sister said you couldn’t even see the sky or cars that were a little distance away because the smoke was so thick,” Hicks said. “It turned the sky red and she said it was like looking through a Snapchat filter.”

Hicks’ family was able to move back into their home. She also stated her family and others in the community will suffer a great financial burden due to the lumber mill being burned down.

“It is hard to say how long [the fires] will continue,” Hicks said. “They’ve improved enough that my family was able to move back into our house. I know people are working really hard and sacrificing a lot, so hopefully, within the next couple of months it will get managed. But I assume it will continue on for a while.” 

Oklahoma Christian is also the home of many California residents such as Erica James, a transfer from Midland College. James’ family currently resides in California where the wild fires are assumed to get worse.

“Luckily, back home, my family is not close enough to the fires where they might have to evacuate, but they are experiencing a lot of ashes outside and on the cars, bad air quality and red-orange skies,” James said. “My dad is a mail carrier and he told me it was hard for him to deliver mail with such bad air quality and ashes everywhere.”
Since the beginning of 2020, the wildfires in California have burned about 3.6 million acres and the state has battled 7,900 wildfires and counting. Record-breaking temperatures and a lack of rain have also contributed to the wildfires, and the air conditions have only worsened.