A huge wildfire has broken out in California. A heat wave is currently sweeping across the United States, increasing the risk of wildfires.
West of United States of america Been battling a severe drought for several weeks. In recent years there has been a lot of drought Forest fire — and it looks like wildfire season is underway in America. For this year, firefighters feared a particularly severe wildfire. Furthermore, as the heat wave in the western United States reached its peak last weekend, these fears now seem to be becoming a reality. An overview.
Wildfires in the United States: Fires in California’s Yosemite National Park
A forest fire broke out near California’s Yosemite National Park on Friday. Local officials said on Saturday that the flames were spreading “explosively”. Within 24 hours, the fire had spread to 2,650 hectares of land. On Sunday it said the fire activity continued to an “extreme” extent.
Authorities in Calfire had already reported an affected area of 38 square kilometers on Saturday afternoon. The flames could not be contained at first, the so-called Oak Fire instead forcing about 6,000 people to leave their homes and apartments. About 2000 buildings are directly threatened by forest fires.
Video: DPA
The fire is particularly strong in Mariposa. In the county east of San Francisco, wildfires accounted for 0 percent as of Saturday, according to the Department of Fire Protection and Forestry. Around 400 firefighters are on duty, who are also dousing the fire with fire extinguishing helicopters. according to Los Angeles Times It may take another week for the fire to be under control. The newspaper claimed to know this from the authorities.
Heat wave blows across America
The United States is currently facing an extreme heat wave that peaked last weekend. It is very dry over large parts of the country, so the risk of forest fires is high. On Sunday, the National Weather Service had forecast around 38 degrees in the capital Washington. Temperatures up to 35 degrees were measured in New York. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu declared a “heat-related emergency”.
Apart from wildfires in California, there have been no recent major fires in the United States. But the danger is increasing day by day. In Europe, several countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece have been witnessing wildfires for weeks. There were also many forest fires in Germany.
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