The extreme heat wave with temperatures of up to 50 degrees in western North America is slowly subsiding, but it is followed by a sea of flames: It burns in many places.
Vancouver / Sacramento – The extreme heat in western Canada has subsided, but persistent drought and persistently high temperatures are fueling dozens of forest fires.
In the province of British Columbia alone 136 fires were recorded, as Cliff Chapman of the Wildfire Service announced on Friday. There were 12,000 lightning strikes in one day. Most of the forest fires were triggered by it. After the record heat of around 45 degrees Celsius, temperatures have now fallen, but are still above average, said Chapman.
Lytton village almost completely destroyed
The small town of Lytton, where a record temperature of 49.6 degrees Celsius had been measured earlier this week, was almost completely destroyed by a rapidly spreading fire. More than 1000 people had to flee the town and the surrounding area in a hurry on Thursday night. The authorities assume that two people were killed there. However, it was still too dangerous to send investigators to the location of the fire disaster, the forensic medicine announced on Friday.
In California, too, hot and dry weather exacerbated the fire situation. Three larger fires burned in the north, causing thousands of people to flee at times. However, many residents were able to return to their homes on Friday. Several buildings in the rural region were destroyed, reported the “San Francisco Chronicle”. The vegetation has already dried out as it is usually seen until the end of August, said a forest agency spokeswoman for the Shasta Trinity National Forest.
Hundreds of deaths from heat
In British Columbia, the dangerous heat wave contributed to hundreds of deaths, according to authorities. Within a week, 719 sudden and unexpected deaths were reported in the province, the forensic medicine said on Friday. That is three times more than usual. The authority assumes that the sharp increase is related to the extreme heat. dpa
