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Record-Breaking Wildfires and Heat Scorch California

HeadlineSep 08, 2020

Wildfires continue to rage across California. The Creek Fire in Central California forced an entire small town to evacuate as firefighters battled the blazes, which have already burned 135,000 acres. Around 200 people were rescued by helicopter as the wildfires overtook a popular campground in the Sierra National Forest. Meanwhile, authorities say the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino County was sparked by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party. The fire has grown to over 9,000 acres. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Sunday in five counties. California has already broken the yearly record for acres burned before the start of the fall fire season, with over 2 million acres scorched. Multiple heat records were also broken in California this weekend, including a reading of 121 degrees in Woodland Hills, the highest temperature recorded in Los Angeles County, and higher than Baghdad, Iraq, which is in the midst of a heat wave. As the climate crisis-fueled heat wave grips California, record cold temperatures are expected in parts of the country, including the Rockies, Plains and Midwest, with rare September snow forecast for the Rocky Mountains. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 30s in Denver today, just days after the thermometer hit 101 degrees on Saturday.

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