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| A firefighter sprays water while trying to stop the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, from spreading to neighboring homes in Doyle, California, on Saturday. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP |
Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heatwave
blanketed the west, prompting an excessive heat warning for inland and desert
areas.
Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached
128 F (53C) on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service’s reading at
Furnace creek. The shockingly high temperature was actually lower than the
previous day when the location reached 130F (54C).
If confirmed as accurate, the 130-degree reading would be the
hottest high recorded there since July 1913, when Furnace Creek desert hit 134F
(57C), considered the highest measured temperature on Earth.
About 300 miles (483km) north-west of the sizzling desert, the
largest wildfire of the year in California was raging along the border with
Nevada. The Beckwourth Complex Fire – a combination of two lightning-caused
fires burning 45 miles (72km) north of Lake Tahoe – showed no sign of slowing
its rush north-east from the Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size
between Friday and Saturday.
Late Saturday, flames jumped Interstate 395 and were threatening
properties in Nevada’s Washoe county. “Take immediate steps to protect large
animals and livestock,” the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District tweeted.
The blaze, which was only 8% contained, increased dramatically to
86sq miles (222 sq km) as firefighters sweltered in 100-degree temperatures.
It was one of several threatening homes across western states that
were expected to see triple-digit heat through the weekend as a high-pressure
zone blankets the region.
Pushed by strong winds, a wildfire in southern Oregon doubled in
size to 120sq miles Saturday as it raced through heavy timber in the
Fremont-Winema National Forest near the Klamath county town of Sprague River.
The National Weather Service warned the dangerous conditions could
cause heat-related illnesses, while California’s power grid operator issued a
statewide Flex Alert from 4 pm to 9 pm Saturday to avoid disruptions and
rolling blackouts.
The California Independent System Operator warned of potential
power shortage, not only because of mounting heat but because a wildfire in
southern Oregon was threatening transmission lines that carry imported power to
California.
Governor Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation on Friday
suspending rules to allow for more power capacity, and the ISO requested
emergency assistance from other states. On Saturday, Newsom issued another
proclamation allowing the emergency use of auxiliary ship engines to relieve
pressure on the electric grid.
Palm Springs in Southern California hit a record high temperature
of 120F (49C) Saturday. It was the fourth time temperatures have reached 120
degrees so far this year, the Desert Sun reported.
In California’s agricultural Central Valley, 100-degree
temperatures blanketed the region, with Fresno reaching 111 degrees F (44 C),
just one degree short of the all-time high for the date,
Las Vegas late Saturday afternoon tied the all-time record high of
117 F (47 C), the National Weather Service said. The city has recorded that
record-high temperature four other times, most recently in June 2017.
NV Energy, Nevada’s largest power provider, also urged customers
to conserve electricity Saturday and Sunday evenings because of the heatwave
and wildfires affecting transmission lines throughout the region.
In Southern California, a brush fire sparked by a burning big rig
in eastern San Diego County forced evacuations of two Native American
reservations Saturday.
In north-central Arizona, Yavapai County on Saturday lifted an
evacuation warning for Black Canyon City, an unincorporated town 43 miles (66km
) north of Phoenix, after a fire in nearby mountains no longer posed a threat.
In Mohave County, Arizona, two firefighters died Saturday after an aircraft
they were in to respond to a small wildfire crashed, local media reported.
A wildfire in southeast Washington grew to almost 60 square miles
(155 square kilometers) as it blackened grass and timber while it moved into
the Umatilla National Forest.
In Idaho, Governor Brad Little declared a wildfire emergency
Friday and mobilized the state’s National Guard to help fight fires sparked
after lightning storms swept across the drought-stricken region.
