PHOENIX (AP) — Parts of California, Nevada and Arizona are expected to heat up this week as the first heat wave of the season arrives with triple-digit temperatures forecast for areas like Phoenix, which summer last. had a record 31 consecutive days at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius).
By Wednesday, most of an area stretching from southeastern California to central Arizona will “easily experience its warmest weather.” since last Septemberand daily records will be threatened from Las Vegas to Phoenix, the National Weather Service said Monday.
Excessive Heat warnings have been issued From 10 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday due to “dangerously hot conditions,” the weather service said.
Fire crews will be on high alert, particularly in Arizona, where fire restrictions went into effect before Memorial Day in some areas and will be ordered by Thursday in most of the west and central regions. southern part of the state, authorities said.
Fire forecasters at the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said the weather in the region usually doesn’t get this hot until mid to late June.
“It looks like Mother Nature is turning up the heat on us a little earlier than usual,” Tiffany Davila, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, said Monday evening.
“We can’t back down from a fire just because it’s 113 degrees outside. But we are closely monitoring everyone on the ground. Make sure they stay hydrated and take more breaks than they normally would,” she told The Associated Press.
On Monday, temperatures reached 110 F (43.3 C) in California’s Death Valley National Park near the Nevada line, 103 F (39.4 C) in Phoenix and 105 F (40.5 C) in Needles, California.
Slightly above normal temperatures are forecast for the region on Tuesday before starting to warm up on Wednesday.
In Las Vegas, where the high peaked at 103 F (39.4 C) on Monday, temperatures will climb as much as 10 to 15 degrees above normal during the second half of the week, peaking at 111 (43.8 C) Thursday.
A high of 120 F (48.8 C) is forecast for Thursday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
The current predicted high of 113 F (45 C) for Phoenix on Thursday would shatter the daily record of 111 F (43.8 C) set in 2016. Last summer, the high reached 110 F (43.3 C) or higher than the last one. .day from June until the whole month of July. At least 400 of 645 heat-related problems deaths that occurred last year were during this one month period.
State representatives from Phoenix, Maricopa County and Arizona this year strive to better protect people ever higher temperatures. Those most threatened by heat There are people outside, especially homeless people in city centers who often don’t have access to enough shade, air conditioning and cold water.
This year, governments have set aside more money so some cooling stations can stay open longer and on weekends, including two that will keep their doors open at night.
Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles said they are “committed to ensuring that those most vulnerable to heat exposure have access to essential, life-saving services, including water stations.” hydration and cooling and day respite centers.”
Additional fire restrictions that go into effect Thursday on Bureau of Land Management lands in Arizona will come with bans on campfires, open flames and recreational shooting in certain areas, the spokesperson said. word from BLM, Delores Garcia.
“As the heat increases, so does the threat of wildfires,” she said.
“We noticed that the rains in the winter and early spring really brought back the vegetation and the higher heat just healed that vegetation. This is what we consider to be the determining factor. And then it adds to that,” Garcia said.
Meanwhile, California’s largest wildfire so far this year was significantly surrounded on Monday after blackening a strip of rolling prairie between San Francisco Bay and the Central Valley.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the Corral Fire was 75% contained after burning more than 57 square kilometers.
A house was destroyed and two firefighters were injured. The wind-driven fire broke out Saturday afternoon, and at one point thousands of people were under evacuation orders.
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Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada.