A brutal heat wave affects the western United States, and a hurricane threatens to make it worse

() — An unprecedented heat wave has baked the western United States for days — fueling destructive wildfires and threatening power outages in California — and could last even longer due to the effects of a hurricane forming along the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Sacramento reached 46 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the hottest day on record in the state capital, according to the National Metereological Service. Records were also broken throughout the Bay Area, with some cities beating previous daily records by more than 10 degrees.

“Now we are heading to the worst part: the risk of blackouts is real,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a tweet Tuesday, adding that temperatures in the state are “unprecedented.”

The heat wave will be the hottest and longest on record in California for the month of September, he said.

California residents have been urged for days to set their thermostats at 25 degrees or higher—despite the heat—as well as avoid using major appliances and turn off all unnecessary lights between 4 p.m. 9 at night.

Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, has notified some 525,000 customers to prepare for potential rotating outages.

The California Independent System Operator — which manages most of the state’s power grid — issued an emergency alert for Tuesday night, saying grid conditions had worsened and power supply was insufficient to cover the demand. The alert was lifted hours later and the operator thanked the “consumer conservation”.

Although some relief was expected this Thursday, the oppressive heat is now expected to last at least until Friday.

Hurricane Kay will bring heavy rains and strong winds to the Mexican coast, but far from its center, the storm will also dictate the weather pattern for Southern California.

Kay will still be about 220 miles south of San Diego on Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles, but the flow around the storm will bring easterly winds to the area, which could bring extreme heat to beaches.

The San Diego weather service has extended the excessive heat advisory for the region through Friday to account for the possibility of high temperatures of 32 to 38 degrees Celsius reaching the coast.

Scorching heat breaks records

According to the weather service, numerous heat records have been broken throughout the West.

In California, the San Francisco airport reached 36 degrees this Monday, breaking a daily record. Salinas reached 39°C, surpassing the previous record of 33°C set in 2004. Livermore reached a record high of 46 degrees.

Salt Lake City hit 40 degrees on Monday, the hottest September day on record and also the 32nd day this year with temperatures reaching at least 37 degrees, beating the previous record by 11 days.

Temperatures in Billings, Montana hit 37 degrees on Monday, tying the previous record. It is the first time that Billings has also reached 37 degrees twice in the same month of September.

Scientists say the searing heat is part of a global pattern of rising temperatures, and that climate change is making heat waves hotter and more frequent.

Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities have warmed the planet by about 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, and that warmer baseline means higher temperatures can be reached during extreme heat episodes, scientists say. .

Wildfires across the West

Hot and dry conditions also mean fires will spread faster, be more intense and burn longer.

Last week saw several destructive wildfires, with at least four people killed in two fires in California that also burned homes and thousands of acres of land.

The fires, burning simultaneously on parched and drought-stricken land, have choked the warm atmosphere with smoke, leading to unhealthy air quality in parts of western states.

The thick smoke, coming from numerous wildfires, is visible from space, according to images released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The fires have also displaced thousands of residents as flames swept through communities, cutting down dry vegetation and burning homes and cars.

Two people were killed when the fast-moving Fairview Fire spread rapidly over parched vegetation in Southern California on Monday, forcing hundreds of residents to flee. By Tuesday, the fire had burned 4,000 acres and was 5% contained.

To the north, in Siskiyou County, two women, ages 66 and 73, died in the Mill Fire, which has burned 4,263 acres and destroyed 98 structures as of Tuesday night.

Nearby, the Mountain Fire, which is also burning in Siskiyou County, scorched 4,730 hectares.
In Oregon, the Cedar Creek fire has consumed 7,132 hectares in five days after being caused by lightning, according to authorities.

Meanwhile, the Ross Fork fire in Idaho, which started in mid-August, is still burning and has consumed 10,500 hectares. Firefighters had it contained at 2% on Tuesday.

‘s Taylor Romine contributed to this report.