Embers blow over an area as the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckworth Complex Fire in Doyle, Calif.
Firefighters struggle to extinguish northern California wildfires under blazing temperatures as another heatwave hit the US West this weekend, prompting extreme heat warnings for inland and desert regions. A staggering 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 Celsius) was recorded in California’s Death Valley National Park on Friday, and it could reach the same high on Saturday. If verified, the 130-degree reading would be the highest recorded since July 1913, when the same Furnace Creek desert area hit 134 F (57 C), the highest reliably measured temperature on Earth. is believed.
The Beckworth complex – two lightning fires burning 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Lake Tahoe – doubled in size between Friday and Saturday after slowing its rush to the northeast from the Sierra Nevada forest area. showed no sign of.
Several major fires have already occurred in the northern mountainous regions of California, which have destroyed more than a dozen homes. Although there have been no confirmed building damages, the fire caused evacuation orders or warnings for about 2,800 people, with the closure of about 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) of Plumas National Forest.
Fire Information Officer Lisa Cox said Friday, the hot air created a giant, smoky pyrocumulus cloud that rose thousands of feet and created its own lightning.
The spot fire caused by the embers sprung up to a mile (1.6 kilometers) further from the northeastern flank – too far for firefighters to fight safely – and winds blew the fire into draws and valleys filled with dry fuel, where “It can really pick up the pace,” Cox said. The flames rose to 100 feet (31 m), forcing firefighters to concentrate on building dozer lines to protect homes.
Firefighters usually take advantage of cooler, more humid nights to advance on fires, Cox said, but the heat and low humidity never gave up. Over 1,200 firefighters were assisted by aircraft. But it was expected that the fire would continue.
He said the air was so dry that some of the water dropped by the plane evaporated before reaching the ground.
“We’re looking forward to more on the same day and the day after tomorrow,” Cox said.
The fire, which contained only 8%, increased dramatically to 86 square miles (222 square kilometers) after better observations by fire officials.
It was one of several dangerous homes in the western states that are expected to see triple-digit heatwaves during the weekend as the high-pressure area blankets.
The National Weather Service warned that hazardous conditions could lead to heat-related illnesses, while California power grid operators issued a statewide flex alert Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid disruption and rolling blackouts.
The California Independent System operator warned of potential power outages not only because of rising heat, but because wildfires in southern Oregon were threatening transmission lines that carried imported electricity to California. Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation on Friday suspending rules to allow for more power capacity, and ISO requested emergency assistance from other states. On Saturday, Newsom issued another proclamation allowing the emergency use of auxiliary ship engines to reduce pressure on the electric grid.
Driven by strong winds, the Oregon fire doubled in size to 120 square miles (311 square kilometers) on Saturday as it moved through heavy woods in the Fremont-Winema National Forest near the Klamath County town of Sprague River.
The National Weather Service said Las Vegas hit an all-time record high of 117 F (47 C) late Saturday. The city has recorded that record-high temperature four times, most recently in June 2017.
Nevada’s largest electricity provider, NV Energy, also urged customers to save electricity on Saturday and Sunday evenings as a heat wave and wildfires affected transmission lines across the region.
In Southern California, a brush fire by a burning big-rig in eastern San Diego County on Saturday forced the evacuation of two Native American reservations.
In north-central Arizona, Yavapai County on Saturday lifted an evacuation warning for Black Canyon City, an unincorporated city 43 miles (66 kilometers) north of Phoenix, because fires in nearby mountains were no longer a threat.
The wildfire in southeastern Washington increased to about 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) as it darkened grass and wood while it moved into the Umatilla National Forest.
In Idaho, Governor Brad Little declared a wildfire emergency on Friday and mobilized the state’s National Guard to help fight the fires that followed a lightning storm in a drought-stricken area.
Firefighters in north-central Idaho were fighting three lightning-blazing wildfires that covered a combined 62 square miles (160 square kilometers). The blasts threatened homes and forced evacuations in the small, remote community of Dixie, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southeast of Grangeville.
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