Extraordinary heat caused this year’s wave of fires, with temperature records falling from Southern California and Nevada through Oregon to Washington state. They measured a record 54.4 degrees Celsius in Death Valley, breaking the 1913 record.
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Firefighters fight a fire in southern Washington state.
Photo: Pete Caster, CTK / AP
A forest fire in northern California set the house on fire.
Photo: Noah Berger, CTK / AP
According to climatologist Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida, water supplies evaporate extremely quickly due to high temperatures. And without cooling moisture, the earth heats up very quickly. All this helps the spread of fires.
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The flames are ravaging the state of Oregon
Video: Reuters
The Bootleg fire in Oregon has burned 620 square miles and has doubled in each of the last three days. “The fire behavior we see at Bootleg is one of the most extreme, and firefighters are facing conditions they have never seen before,” said Al Lawson, who commands firefighters battling the fire. Due to the fire, the high voltage line to California was interrupted, where on Monday the authorities called for an investigation into the current.
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The plane extinguishes a vegetation fire in Oregon.
Photo: ČTK / AP
A fire in northern California burned 360 square miles. It spread so fast that a fiery tornado formed from flames and smoke, The Guradian reported.
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In other areas, so-called pyrocumulonimbus cells began to form, ie storm clouds, which are formed due to the heat at the fire. These can make the situation worse, as they are accompanied by dry thunderstorms with lightning that does not rain.
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In addition, hot smoke drops to the ground in the evening after cooling, which makes the situation worse, the BBC said. Fires continue to threaten in California, Nevada, where they have already occurred, the Midwest toward the Pacific, and the North Rocky Mountains.
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Emergency management reported lightning strikes along the east side of the Beckwourth Complex. Hot, dry, & unstable conditions have allowed these wildfires to become plume dominated generating pyrocumulonimbus. If you are in the vicinity please heed orders from officials. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/bxF0xp3SkX
– NWS Reno (@NWSReno) July 9, 2021
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Pyrocumulonimbus warning
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Climatologist Daniel Swayn added that the intensity of fires in California and Oregon is something that has not been the case at the beginning of the fire season. Therefore, according to him, this year’s extreme conditions – ie drought and heat wave – could lead to significantly worse fires than last year’s, so far record. Experts attribute the growing number of fires to climate change.
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In the evening, thick smoke falls from the fires.
Photo: Nathan Howard, ČTK / AP
