Thousands of California residents were forced to leave their homes on Wednesday. In the western US, which is experiencing a heat wave reaching record levels, about 20 large wildfires are active.
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Governor Gavin Newson tweeted Wednesday that the fire department tried to extinguish 367 wildfires in the state, 23 of which were major fires. “California has had 10,849 lightning strikes in the past 72 hours and temperatures breaking world records,” he wrote.
The dangerous mix of extreme heat and thunderstorms fuels forest fires. Newsom therefore declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. Civilians were evacuated at various places. The governor also asked neighboring states for help.
One of the brightest fires raged near the Napa and Sonoma wine region, fifty miles north of San Francisco. The fire also spread through the Northern California town of Vacaville. According to initial reports, nearly 8,000 hectares of land went up in flames and some fifty buildings were destroyed. Smoke from the fire reached San Francisco.
Newsom called on California’s approximately 40 million citizens to conserve energy. The heat wave put the reinforced electricity grid to the test.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the umbrella organization of weather institutes, is currently verifying a measurement of 54.4 degrees Celsius in California’s Death Valley. That would be the highest temperature recorded on Earth since 1931.
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