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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element">(Americans are
worried about their Christmas trees going up in flames...)<br>
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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"><a
class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/extreme-heat-scalds-christmas-tree-crops-oregon-2021-07-22/">reuters.com</a>
<h1 class="reader-title">Extreme heat scalds Christmas tree crops
in Oregon</h1>
<p><img
src="https://cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/5MAYNJ5VMBKCJAFGJJWPDZNRKU.jpg"
alt="The Bootleg Fire burns through vegetation near Paisley,
Oregon, U.S., July 20, 2021. REUTERS/David Ryder"
draggable="false" class="Image__image___6wPcid" width="600"
height="399"></p>
<div class="credits reader-credits">Deborah Bloom</div>
<div class="meta-data">
<div class="reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">2-3 minutes</div>
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<p id="primary-image-caption"
data-testid="primary-image-caption">The Bootleg Fire burns
through vegetation near Paisley, Oregon, U.S., July 20,
2021. REUTERS/David Ryder</p>
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<p data-testid="paragraph-0">OREGON CITY, Ore., July 22
(Reuters) - The destruction wrought by the extreme heat
and wildfires raging across Oregon includes all kinds of
farms - including one that grows trees for the Christmas
season.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-1">Jacob Hemphill, owner of
Hemphill Tree Farm, estimates that he has lost over
$100,000 worth of Christmas trees as a result of the
recent 'heat dome' event, which saw temperatures of 115
degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 °C) in some parts of the Portland
metro area.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-2">"The second day of the heat, it
was 116. I came in the driveway that night and seen the
trees were basically cooking. Burnt down to nothing,"
Hemphill said.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-3">The losses will take a toll on
his family this year, he said. But he has hope things will
improve next year.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-4">"I mean, you just kind of got
to roll with the punches, and replant next year... and
hopefully make up for the loss that we're gonna have in
the future."</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-5">Beyond Christmas trees, Reuters
spoke to several farmers across the Willamette Valley who
said the heat wave earlier this year damaged their crops
to unprecedented levels.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-6">The so-called <a
href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lightning-found-have-ignited-oregons-mammoth-bootleg-fire-2021-07-22"
target="_blank">Bootleg fire</a> has blackened nearly
400,000 acres (over 160,000 hectares) of desiccated brush
and timber in and around the Fremont-Winema National
Forest since erupting July 6. That makes it close to
Oregon's third largest on record since 1900.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-7">At least 67 homes have been
destroyed and another 3,400 were listed as threatened,
with an estimated 2,100 people under orders to evacuate or
be ready to flee at a moment's notice.</p>
<p data-testid="paragraph-8">Scientists have said the
growing frequency and intensity of wildfires are largely
attributable to prolonged drought and increasing bouts of
excessive heat that are symptomatic of climate change.</p>
<p><span>Reporting by Deborah Bloom; editing by Diane Craft</span></p>
<p>Our Standards: <a
href="https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en/about-us/trust-principles.html"
target="_blank">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a></p>
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