Burned an area 5 times the size of New York: fires in the West of the United States are gaining strength

California authorities have asked residents to use more energy and water more economically. This is due to temperature records, the worst drought in the state and wildfires. Scientists argue that in the near future, planned outages of water and electricity in the state may become a new reality. Writes about it "Voice of America".

Photo: Shutterstock

State Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in fifty counties in California. And he asked the residents of the region to reduce water consumption by 15 percent during this hot time.

“We hope that Californians will be sympathetic to this request, as they have been in previous droughts in the state. We hope people will reduce their water use by 15 percent. This applies not only to the people of the state, but also to industry and agriculture,” Newsom said.

Californians will save what they can.

“We will reduce bathing time and try to do laundry less often. We won’t water the plants often,” says Los Angeles resident Art.

On the subject: Relentless heat and fire tornadoes: wildfires engulf the west of the United States

And although this is now advisory in nature, such a measure may become mandatory. Moreover, the state already had the experience of planned water shutdowns.

“This has already happened in California in 2012-2016 during the drought, when the state reduced water use by 25 percent,” says University of California professor Mark Lubell.

If this fire was at a different landscape with more vegetation and slightly increased wind conditions things could be very VERY bad! #wildfires #cyprusfires well done to everyone for their amazing efforts! pic.twitter.com/wyjvqzrUtd

- Avgoustinos Chatzigiannis (@avgoustinosfire) July 12, 2021

“In general, most of the water used in cities is used for outdoor water consumption - people water lawns, trees, wash cars. “I think there is a possibility that reductions in water use in the state will be mandatory unless we see people voluntarily reducing their use,” he continues.

The reason for the shortage of water resources in the state was the heat and, as a result, drought. Extreme levels, according to experts, are observed in more than 80 percent of the state. In California's Death Valley National Park, the temperature rose to 53 degrees Celsius.

“One of the main reasons for this drought in California is climate change. Abnormal heat, melting snow in the mountains, rising water levels in the ocean are also signs of climate change. The number of forest fires is also increasing,” says Professor Lubell.

The west of the USA, languishing with heat, is on fire. The forests of Nevada, Arizona are burning, two rescuers were killed there during the extinguishing of the fire. Fires are raging in Oregon, where damage to power plants has further exacerbated an already dire lighting situation in California. The burned out substations supplied electricity to the state.

satellite watch #wildfires burning in Oregon ... #mapping #geospatial pic.twitter.com/sgFXAoyzOd

- Jeff Harrison (@JeffHarrison) July 14, 2021

As a result, the authorities have been asking Californians for several days to reduce their electricity consumption as much as possible in the evening. The fire element is raging in California itself, firefighters are not yet able to cope with the fire that covered hundreds of square kilometers. Thousands of people were evacuated, dozens of houses burned down.

The heat melted the protective shield

A resident of Fresno shared a photo of a melted sunscreen, writes ABC7.

The photo serves as a reminder that even when the windshield is covered, the interior of the car can become very hot on sunny days, and pets or children should not be left unattended.

In recent days, Central California has been experiencing scorching temperatures. The National Weather Service recorded 114 degrees (45,5 Celsius) in Fresno on Sunday, July 11.

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Our field correspondent Brandon Clement describes the sights and sounds of the raging #wildfires that have been scorching towns in the west. #CAwx #wildfire pic.twitter.com/B1oNTaD8eF

- WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 13, 2021

Southern California, inland communities and deserts are also experiencing high temperatures, topping 100 (37 Celsius) in recent days. Over the weekend, it was 120 degrees (48,8 Celsius) in Palm Springs and 113 degrees (45 Celsius) in the Antelope Valley.

California Fires

Wildfires in the western United States burned an area almost 5 times more than New York, writes CNN.

The National Inter-Agency Fire Center (NIFC) reports that 67 major fires in 12 states have burned more than 917 acres (000 hectares) of land.

The area is 4,75 times the size of New York.

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From January 1 to July 13 this year, more than 2 million acres were burned in 33 fires, according to the NIFC, more than the previous year for the same period.

More than 11 acres were burned this year through July 103, up from the same period in 000, according to updated figures from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. And there were 2020 fires, which is almost 4991 more than a year ago.

? ️ #wildfires were burning across more than one million acres of the western #UnitedStates and #Canada on Monday.

Scorching temperatures gripped areas reeling from a brutal weekend #heat wave.@jjammine reports ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/RbAPWc6VWh

- FRANCE 24 English (@ France24_en) July 13, 2021

“While wildfires are a natural part of the California landscape, fire season in California and the West begins earlier and ends later each year,” Cal Fire says on its website.

Climate change is considered to be a key driver of this trend. Warmer spring and summer temperatures, decreased snow cover and earlier spring snow melt create longer and more intense dry seasons that increase moisture stress on vegetation and make forests more vulnerable to severe forest fires. The duration of the fire season is estimated to have increased by 75 days.

Biggest Beckwourth Complex Fire. 46% of the fire is localized. The complex consists of Dotta Fire and Sugar Fire.

Dotta Fire began on June 30 in the Beckworth area near Dott Canyon. Sugar Fire started on July 2nd. Both were provoked by lightning.

This is the largest fire in the state, and it is unclear how many buildings or houses burned down.

According to fire intelligence spokesman Mike Ferris, 3061 people have been evacuated and 1199 homes are under threat. In total, 2745 people are fighting the fire.

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