SACRAMENTO, California, July 4 ------ Swaths of California sweltered and the weather was only expected to get worse during the Fourth of July holiday week for parts of the United States, with nearly 90 million people under heat alerts. The torrid conditions were being caused by a ridge of high pressure just off the West Coast and a separate ridge that spawned heat warnings and advisories from Kansas and Missouri to the Gulf Coast states, the National Weather Service said.
California's state capital Sacramento was under an excessive heat warning that is expected to last until Sunday night, with temperatures forecasted to reach between 105 degrees and 115 degrees (40.5 and 46.1 Celsius). About 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Sacramento, crews working in scorching conditions were battling a wildfire in Butte County that forced the evacuation of about 13,000 people in and around Oroville. The blaze, dubbed the Thompson Fire, broke out before noon and sent up a huge plume of smoke as it swiftly grew to more than 3 square miles (7.7 square kilometers) by evening, with zero containment.
Firefighters lined roads, trying to keep the flames from reaching homes, as helicopters dropped water on the fast-moving blaze. The governor's office announced on Tuesday night that federal funding had been approved to help with firefighting efforts. Earlier this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom activated the State Operations Center to coordinate California's response, dispatch mutual aid and support local communities as they respond to threats of wildfire and excessive heat. An analysis by the Associated Press (AP) found that heat killed more than 2,300 people in the US last year, a record. That figure is likely a major undercount, dozens of experts told AP reporters.
Dr. Arthur Jey, an emergency services physician with Sutter Health in Sacramento, told reporters that getting out of the heat is important, along with wearing a hat and loose clothes, hydration and watching out for signs of heat stroke. "With heat stroke, it looks like a stroke," he said, describing symptoms that may include acting unusual, significant headaches, blurry vision, profuse sweating and then no sweating. "And that's a really big deal."
California's heat was expected to spread from north to south over the week, with the worst of it focused on interior areas including the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and the southern deserts. But warnings extended out to just short of the coast. San Francisco, famous for its cool summers, was expected to have a high Tuesday in the upper 80s (31 C) downtown but mid-60s (18.3 C) at Ocean Beach, forecasters said. "The high-pressure dome will linger over California for at least a week, with more long-range guidance suggesting that timeline may even be optimistic," the Bay Area weather office wrote.
The heat arrived with gusty, dry winds in the northern part of the state, where the utility Pacific Gas & Electric implemented public safety power shutoffs in parts of 10 counties to prevent wildfires from being ignited by downed or damaged electrical wires. About 12,000 customers were told their power could be cut and given information about centers where they could obtain ice, water, snacks, Wi-Fi and other necessities, PG&E said. California has had a spate of spring and early summer wildfires feeding on abundant grasses spawned by back-to-back wet winters. The largest current blaze, dubbed the Basin Fire, was 17 percent contained after charring more than 21 sq m (54 sq km) of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County since it was sparked on June 26.
Source: manilatimes.net
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