AMN/ WEB DESK
Firefighters are struggling to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures in the United States. Several other States are also facing heat wave. Death Valley in southeastern California’s Mojave Desert reached 53 degrees Celsius yesterday according to the National Weather Service’s reading at Furnace Creek.
About 483 kilometers northwest of the sizzling desert, the largest wildfire of the year in California was raging along the border with Nevada. The Beckwourth Complex Fire showed no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada forest region.
The National Weather Service warned the dangerous conditions could cause heat-related illnesses. The California Independent System Operator warned of potential power shortage, not only because of mounting heat, but because a wildfire in southern Oregon was threatening transmission lines that carry imported power to California.
The National Weather Service said that Las Vegas has tied the all-time record high of 47 degree Celsius. NV Energy, Nevada’s largest power provider also urged customers to conserve electricity because of the heat wave and wildfires affecting transmission lines throughout the region. A wildfire in southeast Washington grew to almost 155 square kilometers as it blackened grass and timber while it moved into the Umatilla National Forest.