Oregon wildfires turned an enchanted forest into a nightmare, photos show
The western United States is on fire and it's frankly terrifying. Oregon, Washington, and California are rife with wildfires burning out of control, the ash, flames, and soot turning the skies apocalyptic.
In Oregon, where at least 35 active fires torched nearly 370,000 acres of land, the flames turned a once-enchanted forest into a strange nightmare.
Look at these photos republished with permission from Twitter user Jesse aka @UglyBoyJ2. The pictures of a tourist attraction called the Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon are both creepy and fascinating, the playful decor turned a strange red by multiple nearby fires to the East.
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In more normal times, the Enchanted Forest in Salem, about 50 miles south of Portland, is a playful attraction, marketed as an imaginative place with "fun for all ages." It has rides, food, and, of course, neat attractions like a castle in the woods.
But, with a fiery red hue hanging over it, well, it doesn't quite seem as fun, does?
In Silverton, Oregon, Twitter user @keira_dawn_, meanwhile, documented a bright red sky hanging over the town.
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Smoke and ash from multiple wildfires have blocked out the sun all over the West Coast. In California alone, some 3,600 acres have been burned. Images of the sky up and down the coast are frightening.
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Climate change plays a large hand in making these sorts of wildfires worse, in part, by making heat waves more severe and drying out vegetation.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told CNN that the destructive fires are "shocking" but not "scientifically surprising."
"This is in line with essentially every prediction for what could happen this year and the trends we're seeing over years and decades," Swain told CNN.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
