After a heat wave in the US west, the extreme temperatures are slowly falling. But if the drought persists, the risk of forest fires remains extremely high. Now Yosemite National Park is also threatened.
San Francisco – A rapidly spreading forest fire in the US state of California has spread near the famous Yosemite National Park.
The so-called “River” fire had quickly grown to an area of 32 square kilometers, the Cal Fire authorities announced on Monday afternoon (local time). Several hundred residents had to leave their homes. The flames would have destroyed five buildings. Almost 500 aid workers fought the fire in the Mariposa and Madera Counties, around 30 kilometers from Yosemite National Park.
For an as yet unknown cause, the fire broke out on Sunday when extreme summer temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius were measured in the region. For days, people in California and other western US states have been suffering from a heat wave. Record temperatures were measured in several places, as the weather agency in Las Vegas announced on Twitter on Monday.
The place Bishop on the border of California and Nevada reached a previous high of almost 44 degrees Celsius on Saturday. In Las Vegas the thermometer climbed to 47 degrees on the weekend, and on Tuesday it should drop to 41 degrees. Meteorologists predicted almost 49 degrees for Tuesday in Death Valley, after more than 54 degrees had been recorded on Friday in the Californian “Valley of Death”.
Despite falling extreme values, it should remain hot in many parts of the US west coast for the next few days. If the drought continues, there is still an increased risk of fire. In California alone, local authorities listed a dozen major fires on Monday.
After an extremely dry winter and little snow cover, the forest fires started unusually early this year. Cal Fire released numbers Monday that from January to July 11, California, an area of 574 square kilometers was destroyed by flames. In the comparable period of 2020, the fires extended over a significantly smaller area (158 square kilometers).
The worst fires raged in California from mid-August to the end of October last year. The west coast state experienced a historic catastrophe, it was the most devastating forest fire season in terms of area since records began. More than 30 people were killed and over 10,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. dpa
