California is fighting fires while the intense heat hits the western U.S. Climate News

Firefighters had a horrific fire in northern California under intense temperatures as another heat wave hit the western United States over the weekend, warning of excessive heat for inland and desert areas.

California’s Death Valley National Park, about 177 kilometers (110 miles) west of Las Vegas in the state of Nevada, recorded a height of 54 Celsius (130 Fahrenheit) on Friday and was expected to reach the same temperature on Saturday.

If verified, the temperature reading would be the warmest altitude recorded since July 1913, when the same area of ​​the Furnace Creek Desert hit 57C (134F), due to the highest temperature reliably measured on earth.

The Beckwourth complex – two fires caused by lightning as it burned 72 km (45 miles) north of Lake Tahoe – showed no sign of slowing down in the northeastern Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size from Friday to Saturday.

The local newspaper The Mercury News reported that about 1,300 workers were deployed on Saturday to reach the populated areas near the fire, while some evacuations were ordered.

The National Weather Service’s (NWS) Weather Forecast Center said on Twitter on Friday morning that it was expected to affect the “heat record” over the weekend in “much of the West and Southwest”.

“There are currently more than 31 million people under Excessive Heat Warning or Heat Advice. Those who fit well into the triple digits can register a high-temperature mark of 117 F in Las Vegas,” the center said.

Several mountain fires have already occurred in mountainous areas of northern California, destroying more than a dozen homes.

Although no damage was reported to the buildings, the fire caused evacuation orders or warnings for approximately 2,800 people along with the closure of nearly 518 square kilometers (200 square miles) of the Plumas National Forest.

A few weeks after the fires came Northwestern United States and record temperatures hit the west coast of Canada late last month, with authorities in both countries opening cooling centers and asking residents to stay cool inside the house.

The heat record will affect much of the West and Southwest this weekend. More than 31 million people are currently under Excessive Heat Warning or Heat Counseling. Those who fit well into the triple digits can threaten a high-temperature record of 117F in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/vP4NXEeKGh

– NWS Weather Forecast Center (@NWSWPC) July 9, 2021

It was caused by the heat wave hundreds dead Only in the province of British Columbia, officials said.

Experts say climate change is fueling more extreme weather events, such as fires and heat waves, and some have called on U.S. President Joe Biden to adopt an ambitious long-term strategy. reduce the risk of destructive fires.

Temperatures on the west coast of the U.S. have been recorded over the weekend after the warmest June record of 127 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Eight states recorded the hottest June this year, while another six recorded the second hottest, NOAA said.

Returning to California on Friday, the rising hot air formed a huge, disturbing pyrocumulus cloud that reached thousands of feet and created its own lightning, fire chief Lisa Cox said.

The fires caused by the embers advanced 1.6 kilometers from the north-eastern wing – so firefighters could fight safely – and the wind targeted the fire and drifts filled with dry fuel, “can really pick up speed,” Cox said.

U.S. Forest Service firefighters monitor Sugar Fire in Plumas National Forest, California, on July 9 [Noah Berger/AP Photo]

Firefighters typically take advantage of cooler, wetter nights to keep the fire going, Cox said, but the heat and low humidity never let go.

He added that the air was so dry that some of the water that had fallen off the plane evaporated before it evaporated. “We expect the same thing the next day and the next day and the next day,” Cox said.

Also the NWS Weather Forecast Center he said although temperatures on Saturday do not break records, “widespread, oppressive and long-lasting heat remains a threat.”