SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Extreme heat continued across much of California on Tuesday, with conditions expected to worsen in some parts of the U.S. over the Fourth of July holiday week, and nearly 90 million people are under extreme heat warnings.
The heatwaves were driven by a ridge of high pressure off the West Coast and another ridge that prompted heat watches and advisories from Kansas and Missouri to Gulf Coast states, according to the National Weather Service.
A heat wave warning was in effect in California’s capital, Sacramento, until Sunday night, with temperatures expected to reach 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 to 46.1 degrees Celsius).
“It was a hot blast,” John Mendoza, 35, called it as he walked around the Capitol with an iced coffee in hand on Tuesday. By 9 a.m., he’d already been in the pool once and planned to go again later that day.
“I felt like I needed to get in the water,” he said.
About 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Sacramento, crews braved scorching heat to battle a wildfire in Butte County that forced the evacuation of about 13,000 people in and around Oroville. The blaze, named the Thompson Fire, began just before noon, spewing huge plumes of smoke and rapidly growing to more than 3 square miles (7.7 square kilometers) by evening, never to be contained.
Firefighters lined the road, trying to keep the flames from reaching homes as helicopters dropped water on the fast-spreading blaze.
The governor’s office announced late Tuesday that federal funding has been approved to assist with firefighting efforts. Earlier this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom activated a State Operations Center to coordinate California’s response, dispatch mutual aid and assist local communities responding to wildfire and heat threats.
As temperatures soared in Sacramento, Katherine Powers took refuge in the shade of a tree in Cathedral Square, where she is homeless and rested barefoot on the shady sidewalk, sipping a soda.
Powers said she lent her shoes to a friend and hasn’t yet been to one of Sacramento County’s nine “cooling centers” because it would be too difficult to transport all her belongings.
“I’m just going to try to stay cool by going to a park with a fountain, staying in the shade, and just splashing water on myself,” she said. “There’s not much I can do.”
Darlene Kurmedi, who lives in Fairfield, said she doesn’t use air conditioning because it’s too expensive.
“I’m fine. I have 100 fans,” she said, adding that she was staying indoors and drinking cold water.
According to an analysis by the Associated Press: Heatwave kills more than 2,300 Last year saw the highest number of deaths ever recorded in the United States, a figure that dozens of experts told The Associated Press reporters is probably a gross underestimate.
Dr. Arthur Jay, an emergency physician at Sutter Health in Sacramento, told reporters that in addition to wearing hats and loose clothing, staying hydrated and watching for signs of heatstroke, it’s important to get out of the heat.
“Heat stroke looks like a stroke,” Jay said, describing symptoms including abnormal behavior, severe headaches, blurred vision and profuse sweating followed by a cessation of sweating.
“That’s a really big problem,” Jay said, “so we want to keep them out of the heat.”
The heat is expected to spread from north to south across California this week, with the worst impacts concentrated inland, including the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and the southern desert, but warnings have been issued right up to the coast.
In San Francisco, known for its cool summers, forecasters expect highs on Tuesday to be in the upper 80s Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) downtown and in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (18.3 Celsius) in Ocean Beach.
“The high pressure dome will remain over California for at least a week, but longer-range forecasts suggest that timeline may be overly optimistic,” the Bay Area Weather Service wrote.
The heatwaves brought gusts and dry winds to the northern part of the state, and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Public Safety Power Shutoff Fire prevention measures were implemented in parts of 10 counties to prevent wildfires from spreading due to downed or damaged power lines.
PG&E said about 12,000 customers were notified of possible power outages and were provided with information about centers where they could get ice, water, snacks, Wi-Fi and other necessities.
In California, Spring and early summer wildfires They feed on the abundant vegetation that has grown after consecutive wet winters. The current largest blaze, called the Basin Fire, has burned more than 21 square miles (54 square kilometers) of Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County since it began on June 26 and is 17 percent contained.
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Antczak reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed from Los Angeles.
