Wildfires rage across million acres as US, Canada hit

Flames on the side of highway after a bushfire broke out near St George, Arizona, in this still image from a social media video. (Reuters)

Wildfires were burning across more than one million acres of the western United States and Canada yesterday, as scorching temperatures held their grip on areas reeling from a brutal weekend heat wave. Some 850,000 acres were on fire in the United States — mainly in western states such as Oregon, California and Arizona — while more than 300,000 acres smouldered in Canada’s British Columbia alone, according to wildfire officials. After a brief lull from late June’s previous heat wave, extreme temperatures in recent days reached as far inland as the edge of the Rocky Mountains — part of a dramatic trend that experts attribute directly to climate change. The US National Weather Service (NWS) warned dangerous temperatures were continuing in the region for the early part of the week, with temperatures up to 116F (47C) recorded in southern California yesterday, and a heat advisory issued for communities outside Los Angeles. The NWS said overall temperatures were beginning to dip, with breezes arriving in northern California and storms in Arizona and New Mexico on Monday, but excessive heat warnings remained in effect “for most areas through yesterday evening.” Particularly high overnight temperatures have robbed many heat-struck regions of much-needed respite, and more sweltering forecasts lie in store for the coming days. “Luckily the hot spots will start cooling down after today. Enjoy it while it lasts because we are looking at more heat starting this weekend,” tweeted the NWS Los Angeles service. Across the border, temperatures of around 98F — well above seasonal norms — were recorded Monday north of Vancouver in British Columbia, where some 300 wildfires were active across the Canadian province. In California — where more than twice as many acres have burned this year compared to the same point in 2020’s record-breaking season — a large fire near Lake Tahoe expanded on Monday, spurred by the heat, increased winds, low humidity and dry vegetation. A study by a group of leading climate scientists found that those conditions would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change. The World Weather Attribution group said that global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, made the June heat wave at least 150 times more likely to happen. The scorching conditions saw the all-time record daily temperature broken three days in a row in British Columbia.