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Wildfires in the west burned an area equivalent to 4 times NYC

2021-07-14T01:50:33.081Z


59 fires burned nearly 3,500 square km in 12 western states, comparable to 4 times the area of ​​New York City.


Over 54 degrees Celsius in some regions of the US 3:48

(CNN) -

A total of 59 large fires burned an area of ​​nearly 3,500 square km in 12 states in the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), an area comparable to four times the New York City area.

In total, from January 1 to July 11 this year, nearly 7,300 square km have burned in 33,772 fires, according to the NIFC, a figure that exceeds the previous year's count for the same period.

  • Historic Northwest heat wave would have been 'virtually impossible' without a human-caused climate crisis, study finds

In California, the fires charred thousands of square kilometers, more than double the amount that had burned last year during this same period.

In 2020 the state had already registered its worst fire season, in which more than 16,000 square km were burned, according to the NIFC.

As of Monday, the fires had swept through more than 570 square km in the state, more than more than 415 square km more than during the same period in 2020, according to the state Department of Forests and Fire Protection.

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Wildfire leaves 3,000 evacuees in California 0:49

In addition, there have been 4,991 fires so far, almost 700 more than a year ago.

Data shows that this year's fires have damaged or destroyed 119 structures.

So far no fatalities have been recorded.

Last year, more than 10,000 structures were damaged or destroyed and 33 people died.

  • 'Zombie fires' are already burning (without flames) in the Arctic and could become more common as the planet warms

The Role of Climate Change in Wildfires in the West

"While wildfires are a natural part of the California landscape, the fire season in California and throughout the West begins earlier and ends later each year," states the Department of Forest and Fire Protection website.

  • Climate change is producing deadly heat waves.

    Why don't we see it as a crisis?

"Climate change is considered a key factor in this trend. Warmer temperatures in spring and summer, reduced snow cover and earlier spring thaw create longer and more intense dry seasons that increase water stress on vegetation. and they make the forests more susceptible to severe forest fires ", they explain from the department.

At the moment "it is estimated that the length of the fire season has increased 75 days in the mountains and this seems to correspond with an increase in the extension of forest fires throughout the state," he adds.

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Much of the western United States has been experiencing a historic and unforgiving drought, the worst in the region in at least 20 years.

The most severe drought is centered in the Southwest, in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.

But the areas of extreme and exceptional drought also extend to the Pacific Northwest.

This photo shows Lake Mead's Hoover Dam reservoir on June 9 with low water levels.

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In Portland, Oregon, people cool off at the Oregon Convention Center on Sunday, June 27.

Portland marked an all-time high of 44 degrees Celsius.

It topped it a day later with a high of 46.6 degrees.

(Credit: Nathan Howard / Getty Images)

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| During the drought, many areas have also had to cope with extreme heat. Heat and drought are part of a damaging feedback loop reinforced by climate change, experts say: the hotter it gets, the drier it gets. And the drier it gets, the hotter it gets. In this photo Erik Schonberg cools off with a misting fan at the Tehama District Fairgrounds in Red Bluff, California. Sunday's high temperature at Red Bluff Municipal Airport was 40 degrees Celsius, according to the National Weather Service. (Credit: Mike Chapman / Record Searchlight / USA Today Network)

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Conditions are also fueling wildfires and exacerbating demand for water.

Carlos Torres drinks water Saturday as he searches for documents in his destroyed mobile home in Kelseyville, California.

A windswept brush fire burned three mobile homes, two separate garages and vehicles, a single-family home and outbuildings.

(Credit: Kent Porter / AP)

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Kayakers navigate the waters of Lake Powell in Page, Arizona, on June 24, 2021. (Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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11-year-old John Elizondo throws a bucket of water on himself while playing in the Snake River on the edge of Asotin, Washington, on June 24.

(Credit: August Frank / The Lewiston Tribune / AP)

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Visitors to the park in Big Water, Utah, walk in an area of ​​Lake Powell that used to be underwater at Lone Rock Beach.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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James Oehlerking spreads ice over a tub of bottled beer at Coors Field, the home of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies, on June 17.

Temperatures were above 37 degrees for the third day in a row in Denver.

(David Zalubowski / AP)

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A sign reads "stop and cool off" on a building on Lake Mead in Boulder City, Nevada, on June 16.

The lake is at its lowest water level on record since the reservoir filled up in the 1930s. (Credit: Kyle Grillot / Bloomberg / Getty Images

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People swim in a pool at the Circa Resort and Casino during an excessive heat warning in Las Vegas on June 16.

(Credit: Ronda Churchill / AFP / Getty Images)

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Gerry Huddleston cools off in the shallow waters of the Russian River in Healdsburg, California, on June 16.

(Credit: Kent Porter / The Press Democrat / AP)

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John Merizier stops at a water sprinkler along the Las Vegas Strip during the excessive heat warning on June 16.

(Credit: Ronda Churchill / AFP / Getty Images)

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A wildfire burns in a canyon wall south of St. Xavier, Montana, on June 15.

Record temperatures and gusts of wind fueled a rapid spread of large fires in central and eastern Montana.

(Credit: Karl Big Hair / Bureau of Indian Affairs / AP)

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Adrian Keller, left, and Tim Smith fill a cooler with water at a Salvation Army heat relief station in Phoenix on June 15.

(Credit: Caitlin O'Hara / Getty Images)

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Rancher Jim Jensen, center, and Bill Jensen inspect a ditch they are working in to try to get more water to their ranch in Tomales, California, on June 8.

As the drought continues in California, many ranchers and farmers are beginning to see their wells and ponds run dry.

They have to make modifications to their existing water resources or truck water for their livestock.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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Cattle walk to a waterhole in Tomales, California, on June 8.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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This aerial photo shows houseboats anchored at Bidwell Canyon Marina in Oroville, California on June 1.

As water levels continued to drop in Lake Oroville, officials were signaling houseboats for removal to prevent them from getting clogged or damaged.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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This is what California's Lake Tule National Wildlife Refuge, near the Oregon border, looked like on May 28.

The area has been severely affected by drought and a lack of irrigation water from Upper Klamath Lake, which generally feeds the refuge.

(Credit: New York Times / Redux)

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This aerial photo shows rows of almond trees sitting on the ground during an orchard removal project in Snelling, California, on May 27.

Due to the scarcity of water in the Central Valley, some farmers have to remove crops that require excessive irrigation.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

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A firefighter inspects equipment in a Type 3 engine designed for ground fire suppression at a station in Oroville, California, on May 26.

(Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP / Getty Images)

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A launch ramp, extended to accommodate low water levels, reaches California's Lake Oroville on May 22.

At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39% capacity and 46% of its historical average.

(Credit: Noah Berger / AP)

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Firefighters fight a wildfire in Santa Barbara, California, on May 21.

(Credit: AP)

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Clinton Jackson prepares to fill water tanks with recycled water in Oakley, California, on May 20.

The district opened its residential recycled water fill station earlier than usual so that recycled water is available free of charge to Oakley and Bethel Island residents.

(Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Severe drought in the west and northwest is forecast to continue next week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast.

While much of the area will continue to be hot and dry, parts of the Southwest, including Arizona and New Mexico, could see excess rainfall, the agency said.

However, this will not be enough to put out the fires that continue to burn across the United States.

California

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-07-14

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