The time for major fires is approaching, says meteorologist Alex Tardy, at the American Meteorological Institute in San Diego, for Washington Post.
A heat wave will hit the western United States, warns the Meteorological Institute in Sacramento, California Twitter About “extremely dangerous heat” in the coming days, and warnings of temperatures in excess of 38 degrees.
We are very likely to be in the middle of a full and dangerous heat wave by midweek, the National Weather Service wrote in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Temperatures can reach 46 degrees in the valleys around the big city, the institute writes.
declared a state of emergency
The heat combined with the expected strong autumn winds means experts believe there will be many more bushfires in the western parts of the country in the coming months.
“I’d be very surprised if Southern California didn’t have a period of relatively active wildfires in September and October,” says Tardy, with the National Weather Service. Washington Post.
North they also fear the consequences.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown on Sunday declared a state of emergency in the state due to what she describes as an imminent risk of wildfires.
“With the threat of wildfires unlikely to abate in the near future, it is imperative that we act now to prevent further loss of life, property, business and our natural resources,” Brown said.
In Idaho, there was also high heat, but also an abnormal amount of lightning.
– It’s a big concern, especially in our higher altitude areas where there are a lot of trees. It’s definitely something we’re looking at closely, says meteorologist Gina McGuire.
last week Researchers conclude that the southwestern United States was not drier in 1,200 yearsor as far as measurements go.
Relatively calm summer
In California, there were a summer with fewer wildfires than at the same time last year, and on average over the past five years.
Not a single so-called “massive fire” was recorded as more than 100,000 acres were affected by the bushfires.
It is assumed that one of the reasons for this is the increase in rainfall and the high level of humidity in some places this summer. The fear now is that a longer period of intense heat and dry winds could cause more wildfires in the coming months.
Although summers are calm in California, there are still more fires recorded across the United States than the average in the last ten years.