Thousands evacuated as fires burn through Oregon Published on September 09, 2020 at 04:09PM by Timothy Bella, The Washington Post As wildfires stretching for thousands of acres ripped through southwestern Oregon late Tuesday, the state's governor declared an emergency and tens of thousands of residents faced mandatory evacuation orders to escape the Almeda Fire, the latest blaze to devastate the region in recent days. By early Wednesday, the fire was burning its way toward the central neighborhoods of Medford, Ore., a city of 82,000 people, where many have now been forced to flee their homes. "Pray for Medford," tweeted resident Jeff Carpenter. "We are on fire tonight." Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's emergency order for Jackson County, which includes Medford, came after the National Weather Service placed all of southwestern Oregon an under an extreme fire danger warning for the first time, according to the Oregon Climate Office. Brown, D, had declared emerge